Reviewed by USGSIndonesia22y ago
M3.8 earthquake 24 km N of Soe, Indonesia
Friday, December 10, 2004, 21:39:22 UTC · 9.640°S, 124.324°E
A magnitude 3.8 earthquake struck 24 km N of Soe, Indonesia on Friday, December 10, 2004, 21:39:22 UTC, at a depth of 119.0 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 3.8
- Minor · mb
- Depth
- 119 km
- Intermediate
- 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
8 tons of TNT
That is about 1/1,992 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 63 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
94 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: intermediate
119 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 327 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 · 296 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.563 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteNovember 11, 2004 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 189 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 274 km N of this epicenter
- 6.927 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteMay 14, 1995 · 166 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.981 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteJuly 4, 1991 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 6.984 km N of Metinaro, Timor LesteMarch 26, 1930 · 264 km NE of this epicenter
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 2,961 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 296 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 161 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 156 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 2004M7.5
Kepulauan Alor
11 Nov 2004 · 176 km away
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 176 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 194 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.