Reviewed by USGSTimor Leste21y ago
M4.3 earthquake 230 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
Thursday, March 31, 2005, 05:17:52 UTC · 6.877°S, 128.288°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 230 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Thursday, March 31, 2005, 05:17:52 UTC, at a depth of 333.3 km (deep).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 333 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: 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
8 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
333 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on April 12, 2005. 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 1,047 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 146 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 99 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 251 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 91 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.355 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaOctober 8, 1950 · 298 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 235 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 68 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2187 km N of Baukau, Timor LesteFebruary 11, 1969 · 189 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 243 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 213 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1975M5.9
Maluku: Bandanaira
15 Jan 1975 · 282 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1963M8.3
Banda Sea
4 Nov 1963 · 143 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1918M8.1
Banda Sea
18 Nov 1918 · 80 km away
- 1950M8.1
Banda Sea
2 Nov 1950 · 140 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.