Reviewed by USGSIndonesia38y ago
M7.0 earthquake 112 km ESE of Tual, Indonesia
Monday, July 25, 1988, 06:46:06 UTC · 6.081°S, 133.667°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 112 km ESE of Tual, Indonesia on Monday, July 25, 1988, 06:46:06 UTC, at a depth of 27.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on November 6, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 28 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
14 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
28 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 200 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on July 31, 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 138 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 · 255 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7147 km E of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 6, 1943 · 75 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 194 km N of this epicenter
- 7.196 km SSW of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 1942 · 268 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8198 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaSeptember 24, 1972 · 289 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7158 km SW of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 18, 1919 · 216 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6203 km WSW of Nabire, IndonesiaDecember 7, 1928 · 217 km N of this epicenter
- 6.6135 km ENE of Tual, IndonesiaApril 23, 1964 · 86 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 255 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1943M7.6
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Aru Islands
6 Nov 1943 · 93 km away
- 1915
Kaimana
23 May 1915 · 271 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.