M7.3 earthquake 281 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia

Sunday, December 20, 1992, 20:52:47 UTC · 6.582°S, 130.393°E

A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 281 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Sunday, December 20, 1992, 20:52:47 UTC, at a depth of 77.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on November 24, 1983.

Magnitude: 7.3; Major · mw
Depth: 78 km; Intermediate
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

1.3 megatons of TNT

That is about 89 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,818 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

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: intermediate

78 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 200 km

USGS lists 21 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on December 23, 1992. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 766 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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 · 164 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 78 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 235 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 218 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 181 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 238 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers