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M4.5 earthquake Banda Sea

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea on Fri, Aug 16, 1985, 9:35 PM GMT+9 (12:35 UTC), 137 km (85 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 Banda Sea. This one was a foreshock.

Tual 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
4.5 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1985-08-16 12:35:50 UTC
Depth
137.0 km (85.1 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
6.798° S, 129.988° 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 1.5 and up: 7 in the 60 days after this one and 2 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 3.8Banda Sea · 15003 days ago · 167 km deep · 58 km away
  2. 4.3Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 15002 days ago · 153 km deep · 44 km away
  3. 5.2Banda Sea · 14981 days ago · 86 km deep · 65 km away
  4. 5.0Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 14975 days ago · 76 km deep · 57 km away
  5. 5.9Banda Sea · 14973 days ago · 147 km deep · 44 km away
  6. 5.1Banda Sea · 14969 days ago · 179 km deep · 37 km away
  7. 5.0282 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 14962 days ago · 61 km deep · 51 km away

Before

  1. 5.4Banda Sea · 15019 days ago · 181 km deep · 67 km away
  2. 5.1270 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 15020 days ago · 176 km deep · 85 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002hty. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 3:36 PM UTC.