QuakeScout
Magnitude3.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia39y ago

M3.7 earthquake 159 km W of Tual, Indonesia

Tuesday, June 23, 1987, 23:29:13 UTC · 5.823°S, 131.329°E

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 159 km W of Tual, Indonesia on Tuesday, June 23, 1987, 23:29:13 UTC, at a depth of 117.1 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
3.7
Minor · mb
Depth
117 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

5 tons of TNT

That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

92 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

117 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 499 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 92 km N of this epicenter
  2. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 228 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 262 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 135 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 253 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.1217 km W of Tual, IndonesiaJune 17, 1987 · 66 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 7.0188 km SSE of Amahai, IndonesiaJune 9, 1920 · 214 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 186 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 148 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 214 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1938M8.6

    New Guinea

    1 Feb 1938 · 92 km away · intensity VI

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1975M5.9

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    15 Jan 1975 · 173 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1890

    Bandaneira

    23 Nov 1890 · 216 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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