M7.6 earthquake 196 km S of Ambon, Indonesia

Friday, January 27, 2006, 16:58:53 UTC · 5.473°S, 128.131°E

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 196 km S of Ambon, Indonesia on Friday, January 27, 2006, 16:58:53 UTC, at a depth of 397.0 km (deep). USGS received 74 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on November 4, 1963.

Magnitude: 7.6; Major · mwc
Depth: 397 km; Deep
Felt reports: 74; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

3.8 megatons of TNT

That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

140 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: deep

397 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia	IV · Light	57	915 km
Dili, Dili, East Timor	IV · Light	4	595 km
Palmerston, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	3	915 km
Ermera, Ermera, East Timor	IV · Light	1	617 km
Howard Springs, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	1	926 km
Humpty Doo-MacMinns Lagoon, Northern Territory, Australia	III · Weak	1	932 km
Jabiru, Northern Territory, Australia	II · Weak	1	1031 km
Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia	II · Weak	1	1521 km
Kuta, Bali, Indonesia	II · Weak	1	1528 km

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 200 km

USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on February 8, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,160 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 39 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,538 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 278 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1852M8.3
Maluku: Bandanaira
25 Nov 1852 · 181 km away · intensity IX
60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1763
Bandaneira
12 Sep 1763 · 215 km away · intensity X
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2006M6.7
Seram
14 Mar 2006 · 232 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 223 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1711M7.0
Banda Sea
5 Sep 1711 · 190 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers