Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.2 earthquake 194 km W of Tual, Indonesia
Friday, March 18, 2005, 10:21:17 UTC · 5.296°S, 131.026°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 194 km W of Tual, Indonesia on Friday, March 18, 2005, 10:21:17 UTC, at a depth of 38.8 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 39 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
153 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
39 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 968 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 71 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 242 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 265 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 171 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 159 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 274 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 210 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1297 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 25, 1995 · 274 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 69 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 141 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 138 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 267 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1710
Bandaneira
6 Mar 1710 · 151 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 71 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 118 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.