M4.5 earthquake Banda Sea
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck in the Banda Sea on Sun, Oct 18, 1987, 3:56 AM GMT+9 (18:56 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M4.9 Banda Sea. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.5 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-10-17 18:56:38 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 6.384° S, 129.154° 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
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.5 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 7 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.9Banda Sea · 14222 days ago · 173 km deep · 88 km away
- 4.3Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 14216 days ago · 174 km deep · 86 km away
- 4.6Banda Sea · 14215 days ago · 144 km deep · 82 km away
- 4.7Banda Sea · 14209 days ago · 123 km deep · 56 km away
- 4.5Banda Sea · 14193 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 4.0286 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 14186 days ago · 277 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.1Banda Sea · 14185 days ago · 128 km deep · 68 km away
- 4.8243 km NE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 14182 days ago · 145 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.2289 km ENE of Lospalos, Timor Leste · 14181 days ago · 237 km deep · 77 km away
- 4.5Banda Sea · 14179 days ago · 168 km deep · 98 km away
Before
- 4.2Banda Sea · 14227 days ago · 99 km deep · 17 km away
- 5.9Banda Sea · 14230 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.9259 km S of Ambon, Indonesia · 14233 days ago · 390 km deep · 84 km away
- 4.2Kepulauan Babar, Indonesia · 14241 days ago · 160 km deep · 90 km away
- 4.6Banda Sea · 14242 days ago · 145 km deep · 90 km away
- 5.1Banda Sea · 14255 days ago · 124 km deep · 99 km away
- 4.8Banda Sea · 14257 days ago · 187 km deep · 99 km away
Earthquakes todayLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00039bx. Read Wed, Sep 30, 2026, 4:16 AM UTC.