All earthquakes

M5.1 earthquake Banda Sea

A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea on Sat, Sep 28, 1985, 1:20 PM GMT+9 (04:20 UTC), 179 km (111 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.2 296 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste. 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
5.1 (mb), moderate
Local time
UTC
1985-09-28 04:20:39 UTC
Depth
178.5 km (110.9 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
6.494° S, 129.859° E
Tsunami flag
No
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

Did you feel it?

No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.

Nearest places

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

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.1 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.0282 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 14962 days ago · 61 km deep · 57 km away
  2. 4.9Banda Sea · 14950 days ago · 165 km deep · 17 km away
  3. 5.2296 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 14926 days ago · 160 km deep · 91 km away
  4. 3.8Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 14912 days ago · 154 km deep · 93 km away

Before

  1. 5.9Banda Sea · 14973 days ago · 147 km deep · 22 km away
  2. 5.0Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 14975 days ago · 76 km deep · 92 km away
  3. 5.2Banda Sea · 14981 days ago · 86 km deep · 72 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002k7d. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 9:35 AM UTC.