M5.5 earthquake in Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia

Saturday, December 2, 2023, 12:01:00 UTC · 7.035°S, 129.688°E

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia on Saturday, December 2, 2023, 12:01:00 UTC, at a depth of 117.2 km (intermediate). USGS received 9 “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 M5.7 on November 11, 2023.

Magnitude: 5.5; Moderate · mww
Depth: 117 km; Intermediate
Felt reports: 9; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

3 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

58 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

117 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
Dili, Dili, East Timor	IV · Light	5	497 km
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	II · Weak	3	621 km
Los Palos, Lautem, East Timor	III · Weak	1	354 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.

IV · Light shaking: 24,000 people
III · Weak shaking: 117,000 people

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on December 15, 2023. 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 1,525 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 68 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 199 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 120 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2023M7.6
Banda Sea
9 Jan 2023 · 39 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 279 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 229 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 283 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers