Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M6.1 earthquake 205 km SSE of Amahai, Indonesia
Saturday, March 26, 2005, 15:40:34 UTC · 4.894°S, 129.938°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 205 km SSE of Amahai, Indonesia on Saturday, March 26, 2005, 15:40:34 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on March 2, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mwb
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 6
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
175 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
10 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
6 people reported feeling this earthquake to USGS; a per-place breakdown is not available 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1,094 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 · 186 km E of this epicenter
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 232 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 230 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 219 km S of this epicenter
- 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 204 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 194 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1196 km SSE of Ambon, IndonesiaJuly 4, 1914 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1297 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteDecember 25, 1995 · 240 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,534 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 264 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 45 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 123 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 222 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 144 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1950M7.6
Seram
8 Oct 1950 · 219 km away
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.