M5.1 earthquake 169 km NNE of Maumere, Indonesia

Monday, June 17, 1996, 22:05:45 UTC · 7.248°S, 122.892°E

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 169 km NNE of Maumere, Indonesia on Monday, June 17, 1996, 22:05:45 UTC, at a depth of 600.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on June 17, 1996.

Magnitude: 5.1; Moderate · 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

674 tons of TNT

That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

64 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 75 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 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.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 348 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 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,929 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 176 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 233 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 178 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 219 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 130 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
1995M6.9
Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara
14 May 1995 · 273 km away · intensity VII
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers