Reviewed by USGS49y ago
M6.3 earthquake in Banda Sea
Tuesday, February 21, 1978, 07:14:54 UTC · 4.844°S, 125.412°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Tuesday, February 21, 1978, 07:14:54 UTC, at a depth of 510.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on March 5, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mb
- Depth
- 510 km
- Deep
- 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: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
7 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
510 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 100 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on February 21, 1978. 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 74 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21965 Ceram Sea EarthquakeJanuary 24, 1965 · 253 km N of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 252 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 268 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 240 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 248 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 282 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8180 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteJuly 17, 1956 · 242 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 71 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 282 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1841M6.0
Banda Sea
16 Dec 1841 · 250 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1876M6.8
Buru Island, Ceram Sea
28 May 1876 · 289 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1975M6.6
Sanana Island
5 Mar 1975 · 279 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.