Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste31y ago
M4.2 earthquake 48 km ESE of Suai, Timor Leste
Wednesday, May 17, 1995, 00:45:46 UTC · 9.477°S, 125.663°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 48 km ESE of Suai, Timor Leste on Wednesday, May 17, 1995, 00:45:46 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
40 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Timor and Australian 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 261 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 239 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.077 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 14, 1952 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.927 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteMay 14, 1995 · 136 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.981 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteJuly 4, 1991 · 187 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.984 km N of Metinaro, Timor LesteMarch 26, 1930 · 191 km N of this epicenter
- 6.889 km NW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteJune 25, 1953 · 220 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.892 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteJune 26, 1953 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 414 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 169 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 215 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 187 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
- 1995M6.9
Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara
14 May 1995 · 132 km away · intensity VII
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1814
Timor Island, Kupang, Kissar Island
1814 · 237 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1989M6.2
Timor: Alor
14 Jul 1989 · 166 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.