QuakeScout
Magnitude3.9

Reviewed by USGS20y ago

M3.9 earthquake in Banda Sea

Wednesday, March 1, 2006, 22:08:30 UTC · 6.983°S, 129.569°E

A magnitude 3.9 earthquake struck in Banda Sea on Wednesday, March 1, 2006, 22:08:30 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.9
Minor · mb
Depth
35 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

11 tons of TNT

That is about 1/1,410 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 45 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

57 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

35 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on March 18, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M51h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M3.9
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.7Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia20y ago · 4 km S of this epicenter
  2. 4.6Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia20y ago · 26 km W of this epicenter
  3. 4.2Banda Sea20y ago · 24 km NE of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,111 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11963 Banda Sea EarthquakeNovember 4, 1963 · 5 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.7Banda SeaNovember 2, 1950 · 46 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 2006 · 231 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.5273 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaJune 3, 1927 · 112 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.3145 km NNE of Lospalos, Timor LesteAugust 30, 1917 · 219 km W of this epicenter
  6. 7.3281 km WSW of Tual, IndonesiaDecember 20, 1992 · 101 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.3172 km NE of Lospalos, Timor LesteNovember 24, 1983 · 164 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.258 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor LesteSeptember 29, 1905 · 273 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1852M8.3

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    25 Nov 1852 · 194 km away · intensity IX

    60 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1763

    Bandaneira

    12 Sep 1763 · 119 km away · intensity X

    7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1710

    Bandaneira

    6 Mar 1710 · 275 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1975M5.9

    Maluku: Bandanaira

    15 Jan 1975 · 226 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1890

    Bandaneira

    23 Nov 1890 · 279 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1963M8.3

    Banda Sea

    4 Nov 1963 · 14 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers

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