Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste2y ago
M4.4 earthquake 190 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Sunday, March 3, 2024, 11:38:03 UTC · 7.785°S, 128.560°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 190 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Sunday, March 3, 2024, 11:38:03 UTC, at a depth of 166.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 166 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
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
112 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
166 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 1,320 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 · 148 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 127 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, IndonesiaJanuary 9, 2023 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 261 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 248 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 114 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3125 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 29, 2021 · 111 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 243 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 254 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2023M7.6
Banda Sea
9 Jan 2023 · 182 km away · intensity V
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 152 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1908M6.6
Timor
23 Mar 1908 · 251 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 100 km away
- 1950M8.1
Banda Sea
2 Nov 1950 · 177 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.