Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20d ago
M4.4 earthquake 36 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
Sunday, September 6, 2026, 06:06:02 UTC · 8.185°S, 120.001°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 36 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on Sunday, September 6, 2026, 06:06:02 UTC, at a depth of 7.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 7 km
- Shallow
- 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
62 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
7 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 since this event; the largest was M5.0 on September 26, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.052 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia7h ago · 36 km E of this epicenter
- 4.842 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia1d ago · 47 km E of this epicenter
- 4.345 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia11d ago · 49 km E of this epicenter
- 4.550 km NNW of Ruteng, Indonesia13d ago · 39 km E of this epicenter
- 5.051 km NE of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia13d ago · 26 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 628 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.866 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaAugust 14, 2026 · 149 km E of this epicenter
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3Flores SeaDecember 14, 2021 · 254 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 100 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 279 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 248 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0150 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaFebruary 27, 2015 · 296 km E of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 189 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,154 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 211 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 172 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2026M7.7
Flores Region
14 Aug 2026 · 149 km away · intensity VII
142 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 2003M6.5
Flores: Reo
25 Mar 2003 · 83 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2007M6.5
Sumbawa Island
25 Nov 2007 · 183 km away
3 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2009M6.6
Sumabawa: Bima
8 Nov 2009 · 151 km away
2 deaths$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.