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M4.9 earthquake Banda Sea

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea on Tue, Dec 17, 1985, 9:54 PM GMT+9 (12:54 UTC), 159 km (99 mi) below the surface.

A larger quake followed: M5.1 Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia. 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
4.9 (mb), light
Local time
UTC
1985-12-17 12:54:54 UTC
Depth
158.6 km (98.5 mi), intermediate-depth
Epicenter
6.469° S, 129.999° 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: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

  1. 5.0242 km W of Tual, Indonesia · 14885 days ago · 101 km deep · 87 km away
  2. 5.1Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 14871 days ago · 128 km deep · 100 km away
  3. 4.5Banda Sea · 14863 days ago · 33 km deep · 32 km away
  4. 5.0298 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 14859 days ago · 33 km deep · 43 km away
  5. 4.6247 km WSW of Tual, Indonesia · 14850 days ago · 123 km deep · 71 km away
  6. 4.7247 km W of Tual, Indonesia · 14842 days ago · 116 km deep · 77 km away

Before

  1. 4.8Banda Sea · 14908 days ago · 164 km deep · 3 km away
  2. 4.7Banda Sea · 14912 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
  3. 3.8Pulau Pulau Tanimbar, Indonesia · 14919 days ago · 154 km deep · 91 km away

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Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002p0b. Read Tue, Sep 29, 2026, 8:07 PM UTC.