Reviewed by USGSIndonesia6y ago
M4.6 earthquake in Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia
Monday, December 23, 2019, 21:19:42 UTC · 7.357°S, 129.916°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck in Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia on Monday, December 23, 2019, 21:19:42 UTC, at a depth of 47.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on December 20, 2019.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 47 km
- Shallow
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
85 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: shallow
47 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 M4.2 on December 29, 2019. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,395 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 56 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 100 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 288 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 97 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 253 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 101 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 193 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3Banda SeaJune 24, 2019 · 134 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 235 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 151 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 262 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 67 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1852M7.0
Bandaneira
24 Dec 1852 · 270 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 109 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.