Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste3y ago
M4.2 earthquake 266 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Monday, August 14, 2023, 18:19:32 UTC · 7.606°S, 129.239°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 266 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Monday, August 14, 2023, 18:19:32 UTC, at a depth of 70.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 70 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
126 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
70 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,416 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 · 83 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 87 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaJanuary 9, 2023 · 104 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 267 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 173 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 180 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3125 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 29, 2021 · 183 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 171 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 68 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 268 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 197 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2023M7.6
Banda Sea
9 Jan 2023 · 108 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 91 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1908M6.6
Timor
23 Mar 1908 · 268 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 72 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.