Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste22y ago
M4.3 earthquake 63 km NNW of Maubara, Timor Leste
Monday, December 20, 2004, 21:10:43 UTC · 8.073°S, 124.998°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 63 km NNW of Maubara, Timor Leste on Monday, December 20, 2004, 21:10:43 UTC, at a depth of 35.9 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 36 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
53 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
36 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on December 21, 2004. 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 454 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9169 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 17, 1996 · 285 km W of this epicenter
- 7.563 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteNovember 11, 2004 · 17 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 300 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 226 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 272 km E of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 270 km W of this epicenter
- 7.077 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 14, 1952 · 168 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 203 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 461 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1896
Timor: Alor Island
18 Apr 1896 · 34 km away · intensity VIII
250 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1987M6.5
Timor: Pantar, Mount Sirung
26 Nov 1987 · 95 km away
125 deaths$5 million damagetsunami
- 2004M7.5
Kepulauan Alor
11 Nov 2004 · 17 km away
34 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1991M6.5
Timor: Kalabahi, Dili
4 Jul 1991 · 35 km away
28 deaths$8 million damage
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 214 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1995M6.9
Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara
14 May 1995 · 43 km away · intensity VII
11 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.