Reviewed by USGSIndonesia34y ago
M4.9 earthquake 26 km WNW of Maumere, Indonesia
Saturday, January 9, 1993, 07:04:48 UTC · 8.503°S, 122.005°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 26 km WNW of Maumere, Indonesia on Saturday, January 9, 1993, 07:04:48 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on December 29, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
51 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 M4.5 on January 22, 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 307 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 · 12 km W of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 96 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 221 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 204 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.981 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteJuly 4, 1991 · 298 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9160 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 7, 1991 · 156 km N of this epicenter
- 6.889 km NW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteJune 25, 1953 · 208 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,668 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 12 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 238 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 298 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 119 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 34 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1814
Timor Island, Kupang, Kissar Island
1814 · 261 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.