M5.4 earthquake in Banda Sea

Thursday, February 20, 2020, 20:24:28 UTC · 6.743°S, 129.625°E

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Thursday, February 20, 2020, 20:24:28 UTC, at a depth of 163.2 km (intermediate). USGS received 5 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on September 21, 2019.

Magnitude: 5.4; Moderate · mww
Depth: 163 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 5; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

30 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

163 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	2	663 km
Coonawarra, Northern Territory, Australia	II · Weak	2	659 km
Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia	II · Weak	1	916 km

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 populated area was estimated to feel noticeable shaking.

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on March 17, 2020. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,490 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 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 · 167 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 92 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 248 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 290 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 198 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 251 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers