Around noon of Tuesday October 22nd, 2024, a shallow and significant MAG-5.1 earthquake hit in the Banda Sea 265 kilometer from Tual, Indonesia.
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Earthquake Summary
This earthquake hit under water in the Banda Sea, 167 kilometers (103 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 265 kilometer west of Tual in Maluku. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.
| Date and Time: | Oct 22, 2024 11:36 (Jayapura Time) - Oct 22, 2024 02:36 Universal Time. |
|---|---|
| Location: | 265 km west of Tual, Maluku, Indonesia. Coordinates 6°3'26"S 130°23'33"E. |
| Map: |  Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps. |
| Magnitude: | MAG 5.1 Detected by 51 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.08 . |
| Depth: | 10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth. |
| Tsunami Risk: | Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here. |
Nearby towns and cities
This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Tual in Maluku, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 265 kilometer (165 mi) west of Tual.
Overview of nearby places
| Distance | Place |
|---|---|
| 265 km (165 mi) E from epicenter |
Tual Maluku, Indonesia. |
Risk of aftershocks?
We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.
Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.
It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.
Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).Earthquakes like this happen often in the region
Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since August 27th, 2024, when a 5.8 magnitude earthquake hit 161 km (100 mi) further southwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck on January 9th, 2023.
In total, 125 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 29 days.
Low tsunami risk
Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.
Tsunami Risk Factors
| Factor | Under Sea? | MAG-6.5 or stronger? | Shallow depth? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Explanation | Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami. | Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's. |
Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor. |
| This Earthquake | This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea. | Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami. |
This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami. |
Sources
Last updated 22/10/24 18:48 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.
- US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000nmcs
- European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20241022_0000018
- Geonames.org: World Cities Database
- Google Maps: Static API
- Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database
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