M6.8 earthquake in Banda Sea

Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 13:53:55 UTC · 6.776°S, 129.785°E

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Wednesday, May 6, 2020, 13:53:55 UTC, at a depth of 96.0 km (intermediate). USGS received 62 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on June 24, 2019.

Magnitude: 6.8; Strong · mww
Depth: 96 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 62; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

239 kilotons of TNT

That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

28 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

96 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
Coonawarra, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	14	638 km
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	IV · Light	12	643 km
Howard Springs, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	9	651 km
Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	8	641 km
Katherine, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	4	898 km
Dili, Dili, East Timor	III · Weak	3	513 km
Kununurra, Western Australia, Australia	III · Weak	3	1004 km
Humpty Doo-MacMinns Lagoon, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	2	658 km
Ambon, Maluku, Indonesia	IV · Light	1	396 km
Driyorejo, Jawa Timur, Indonesia	IV · Light	1	1899 km
Nguiu, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	1	567 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

V · Moderate shaking: 21,000 people
IV · Light shaking: 168,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

TiakurPopulation 0IV · Light

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 16 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on May 11, 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 1,476 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 · 170 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 90 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 250 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 279 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 199 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 253 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers