Magnitude3.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia30y ago

M3.7 earthquake 122 km N of Maumere, Indonesia

Monday, June 17, 1996, 19:59:30 UTC · 7.518°S, 122.159°E

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 122 km N of Maumere, Indonesia on Monday, June 17, 1996, 19:59:30 UTC, at a depth of 600.0 km (deep).

Magnitude
3.7
Minor · mb
Depth
600 km
Deep
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

5 tons of TNT

That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

50 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: deep

600 km

Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.

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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on July 4, 1996. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M3.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 5.4164 km N of Maumere, Indonesia30y ago · 49 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 5.3165 km N of Maumere, Indonesia30y ago · 48 km NE of this epicenter
  3. 4.6133 km N of Maumere, Indonesia30y ago · 29 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 324 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 10 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:

  1. 1992M7.8

    Flores Region, Maumere, Babi

    12 Dec 1992 · 111 km away · intensity XI

    2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami

  2. 1896

    Timor: Alor Island

    18 Apr 1896 · 297 km away · intensity VIII

    250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1987M6.5

    Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung

    26 Nov 1987 · 234 km away

    125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami

  4. 1991M6.5

    Timor: Kalabahi, Dili

    4 Jul 1991 · 285 km away

    28 deaths$8 million damage

  5. 1982M5.9

    Flores Island: Eastern

    25 Dec 1982 · 141 km away

    13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami

  6. 1961M6.5

    Flores: Endeh

    16 Mar 1961 · 78 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages