QuakeScout
Magnitude7.6

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia3y ago

M7.6 earthquake in Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia

Monday, January 9, 2023, 17:47:35 UTC · 7.059°S, 130.009°E

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck in Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia on Monday, January 9, 2023, 17:47:35 UTC, at a depth of 105.0 km (intermediate). USGS received 216 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IX (violent). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on January 27, 2006.

Magnitude
7.6
Major · mww
Depth
105 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
216
Max intensity IX
Est. shaking
VII
Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
Green
Impact estimate
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

3.8 megatons of TNT

That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

50 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

105 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.

PlaceIntensityReportsDistance
Darwin, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light68610 km
Howard Springs, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light25618 km
Coonawarra, Northern Territory, AustraliaV · Moderate24605 km
Dili, Dili, East TimorIV · Light21526 km
Humpty Doo-MacMinns Lagoon, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light13624 km
Kununurra, Western Australia, AustraliaIV · Light10978 km
Katherine, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light10862 km
Palmerston, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light7607 km
Kupang, Nusa Tenggara Timur, IndonesiaIV · Light5794 km
Nhulunbuy, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light4939 km
Ubud, Bali, IndonesiaII · Weak31638 km
Jabiru, Northern Territory, AustraliaIV · Light2703 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.

VII · Very strong shaking
36,000 people
VI · Strong shaking
79,000 people
V · Moderate shaking
157,000 people
IV · Light shaking
1.6 million people
III · Weak shaking
42,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

  • TiakurPopulation 0V · Moderate
  • LanggurPopulation 0IV · Light
  • TualPopulation 40,000IV · Light
  • LospaloscapitalPopulation 17,000IV · Light
  • ElatPopulation 0IV · Light
  • GeserPopulation 0IV · Light
  • AmboncapitalPopulation 356,000IV · Light
  • BaucaucapitalPopulation 16,000IV · Light

After the main event

Aftershocks within 200 km

USGS lists 36 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on January 9, 2023. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M6M71h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M7.6
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.4284 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste3y ago · 104 km W of this epicenter
  2. 4.1Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia3y ago · 65 km W of this epicenter
  3. 4.1194 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste3y ago · 178 km W of this epicenter
  4. 4.4Banda Sea3y ago · 52 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 4.2Banda Sea3y ago · 64 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 4.1Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia3y ago · 7 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 4.3Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia3y ago · 50 km W of this epicenter
  8. 4.2264 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia3y ago · 113 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,470 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 286 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 46 km W of this epicenter
  3. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 95 km W of this epicenter
  4. 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 272 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 69 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 265 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.3125 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 29, 2021 · 274 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 68 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 68 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 203 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 118 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 2023M7.6

    Banda Sea

    9 Jan 2023 · 3 km away · intensity V

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 281 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1938M8.6

    New Guinea

    1 Feb 1938 · 286 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1975M5.9

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    15 Jan 1975 · 229 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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