Reviewed by USGSIndonesia39y ago
M4.1 earthquake 265 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia
Tuesday, February 2, 1988, 04:16:57 UTC · 6.591°S, 130.554°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 265 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Tuesday, February 2, 1988, 04:16:57 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
13 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: 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on February 28, 1988. 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 567 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 208 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 112 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 154 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 19 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 281 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 221 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1186 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 15, 1962 · 271 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1217 km W of Tual, IndonesiaJune 17, 1987 · 116 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 174 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 90 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 240 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 208 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 187 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 244 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.