Reviewed by USGSIndonesia3y ago
M4.4 earthquake 259 km W of Tual, Indonesia
Sunday, May 21, 2023, 14:58:24 UTC · 5.948°S, 130.435°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 259 km W of Tual, Indonesia on Sunday, May 21, 2023, 14:58:24 UTC, at a depth of 181.1 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 181 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
81 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
181 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on May 27, 2023. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.0288 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia3y ago · 42 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.1288 km W of Tual, Indonesia3y ago · 35 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.7279 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia3y ago · 48 km S of this epicenter
- 4.3240 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia3y ago · 29 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.9Banda Sea3y ago · 19 km S of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,523 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 165 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 145 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 169 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaJanuary 9, 2023 · 132 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 92 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 71 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3Banda SeaJune 24, 2019 · 149 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 70 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 108 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 48 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 269 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2023M7.6
Banda Sea
9 Jan 2023 · 130 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 168 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 165 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.