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M4.9 earthquake Banda Sea

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea on Wed, Mar 13, 1985, 5:20 AM GMT+8 (21:20 UTC), 170 km (106 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M6.2 Banda Sea. This one was a foreshock.

Lospalos forecast

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Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude
4.9 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1985-03-12 21:20:15 UTC
Depth
170.1 km (105.7 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
6.740° S, 129.515° E
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.

Depth from
FROM_LOCATION

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 9 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 4.5298 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 15170 days ago · 178 km deep · 81 km away
  2. 4.8Banda Sea · 15166 days ago · 207 km deep · 23 km away
  3. 4.9Banda Sea · 15161 days ago · 92 km deep · 80 km away
  4. 6.2Banda Sea · 15161 days ago · 249 km deep · 89 km away
  5. 5.0268 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 15154 days ago · 155 km deep · 81 km away
  6. 3.8Banda Sea · 15151 days ago · 145 km deep · 47 km away
  7. 3.9Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 15135 days ago · 116 km deep · 74 km away
  8. 4.8Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 15121 days ago · 33 km deep · 85 km away
  9. 5.2275 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 15115 days ago · 112 km deep · 69 km away

Before

  1. 4.6Banda Sea · 15180 days ago · 192 km deep · 23 km away
  2. 4.4295 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 15180 days ago · 174 km deep · 45 km away
  3. 4.9Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 15194 days ago · 182 km deep · 67 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002csz. Read Sat, Sep 26, 2026, 11:41 PM UTC.