QuakeScout
Magnitude4.4

Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste2y ago

M4.4 earthquake 130 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste

Thursday, January 4, 2024, 06:15:24 UTC · 7.630°S, 127.775°E

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 130 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Thursday, January 4, 2024, 06:15:24 UTC, at a depth of 161.2 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
4.4
Light · mb
Depth
161 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
—
No ShakeMap
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

60 tons of TNT

That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

62 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: intermediate

161 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

Did You Feel It?

Where it was felt

No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 50 km

USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.0 on January 19, 2024. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.4
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.0161 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste2y ago · 33 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,161 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 215 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 7.6Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaJanuary 9, 2023 · 254 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 243 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 34 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 7.3125 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 29, 2021 · 24 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 46 km E of this epicenter
  8. 7.3Banda SeaJune 24, 2019 · 205 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2023M7.6

    Banda Sea

    9 Jan 2023 · 258 km away · intensity V

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1989M6.2

    Timor: Alor

    14 Jul 1989 · 296 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1963M8.3

    Banda Sea

    4 Nov 1963 · 217 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

  4. 1908M6.6

    Timor

    23 Mar 1908 · 296 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1918M8.1

    Banda Sea

    18 Nov 1918 · 152 km away

  6. 1950M8.1

    Banda Sea

    2 Nov 1950 · 228 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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