Reviewed by USGSIndonesia42y ago
M6.2 earthquake 287 km WSW of Ambon, Indonesia
Wednesday, June 6, 1984, 05:38:23 UTC · 4.820°S, 125.845°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 287 km WSW of Ambon, Indonesia on Wednesday, June 6, 1984, 05:38:23 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on March 12, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 33 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63 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: shallow
33 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 140 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 · 244 km N of this epicenter
- 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 233 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 211 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 282 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 263 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8180 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteJuly 17, 1956 · 231 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 72 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 271 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 295 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1841M6.0
Banda Sea
16 Dec 1841 · 205 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1802
Banda Sea
Aug 1802 · 289 km away · intensity X
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1835
Maluku: Ambon
1 Nov 1835 · 289 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1876M6.8
Buru Island, Ceram Sea
28 May 1876 · 255 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.