Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste43y ago
M4.6 earthquake 181 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Monday, January 2, 1984, 17:05:18 UTC · 7.582°S, 128.349°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 181 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Monday, January 2, 1984, 17:05:18 UTC, at a depth of 145.3 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on December 26, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 145 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
82 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
145 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 M5.1 on January 8, 1984. 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 379 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 · 155 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 125 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 260 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 84 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 23 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 124 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 280 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 253 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 158 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1908M6.6
Timor
23 Mar 1908 · 278 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 97 km away
- 1950M8.1
Banda Sea
2 Nov 1950 · 175 km away
- 1917M7.8
Banda Sea
30 Aug 1917 · 40 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.