Reviewed by USGSIndonesia34y ago
M4.8 earthquake 38 km NNE of Maumere, Indonesia
Friday, January 8, 1993, 21:41:17 UTC · 8.316°S, 122.381°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 38 km NNE of Maumere, Indonesia on Friday, January 8, 1993, 21:41:17 UTC, at a depth of 122.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on December 29, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 123 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
41 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
123 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 lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on January 12, 1993. 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 311 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 56 km W of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 85 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 188 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 264 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 270 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 201 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.981 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteJuly 4, 1991 · 254 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,918 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 56 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 261 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 195 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 254 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 78 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 44 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.