Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste6y ago
M4.4 earthquake 102 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Monday, March 16, 2020, 07:33:02 UTC · 7.717°S, 127.451°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 102 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Monday, March 16, 2020, 07:33:02 UTC, at a depth of 149.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 150 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
60 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
150 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on March 31, 2020. 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 1,025 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 · 252 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 261 km N of this epicenter
- 7.563 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteNovember 11, 2004 · 289 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 44 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 83 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Banda SeaJune 24, 2019 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 141 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 45 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M7.5
Kepulauan Alor
11 Nov 2004 · 289 km away
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1995M6.9
Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara
14 May 1995 · 277 km away · intensity VII
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2015M6.5
East Nusa Tenggara: Alor
4 Nov 2015 · 292 km away · intensity V
$9 million damage
- 1989M6.2
Timor: Alor
14 Jul 1989 · 259 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 253 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 188 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.