Reviewed by USGSIndonesia3y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia
Saturday, August 26, 2023, 04:01:58 UTC · 7.603°S, 127.562°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Kepulauan Barat Daya, Indonesia on Saturday, August 26, 2023, 04:01:58 UTC, at a depth of 163.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 164 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
51 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
164 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.4 on August 29, 2023. 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 1,101 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 · 236 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 199 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaJanuary 9, 2023 · 277 km E of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 245 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 28 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3125 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 29, 2021 · 6 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 68 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Banda SeaJune 24, 2019 · 222 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1995M6.9
Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara
14 May 1995 · 292 km away · intensity VII
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2023M7.6
Banda Sea
9 Jan 2023 · 280 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1989M6.2
Timor: Alor
14 Jul 1989 · 273 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 237 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 172 km away
- 1950M8.1
Banda Sea
2 Nov 1950 · 247 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.