M4.6 earthquake 286 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 286 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste on Sat, Jan 21, 1978, 1:07 AM GMT+8 (17:07 UTC), 111 km (69 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.6 Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1978-01-20 17:07:10 UTC
- Depth
- 111.0 km (69.0 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 7.458° S, 129.369° E
- Region
- Timor Leste
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Stations used
- 12
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.6Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 17768 days ago · 19 km deep · 37 km away
- 5.2272 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 17749 days ago · 108 km deep · 55 km away
- 5.6266 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 17745 days ago · 33 km deep · 69 km away
- 5.4Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 17723 days ago · 157 km deep · 54 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayTimor Leste earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0000sma. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 7:13 AM UTC.