Reviewed by USGSIndonesia33y ago
M4.7 earthquake 265 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 25, 1993, 00:12:07 UTC · 6.960°S, 130.759°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 265 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 25, 1993, 00:12:07 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on May 22, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
29 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on June 9, 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 749 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 · 233 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 127 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 175 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 31 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 58 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 292 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 266 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1186 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteMay 15, 1962 · 284 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 220 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 136 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 286 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 233 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 234 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1890
Bandaneira
23 Nov 1890 · 290 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.