July 18, 1956 Earthquake: Banda Sea, Indonesia
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Banda Sea, Indonesia on July 18, 1956 at 06:19:35 UTC, 190 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- July 18, 1956
- Time
- 06:19:35 UTC
- Place
- Banda Sea, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 7.5 · Unspecified 7.5
- Focal depth
- 190 km (118 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 5.500° S, 130.000° E
- Country
- Indonesia
- Region
- Central and South Pacific
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. Unspecified: the method was not stated in the published sources. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1956, July 7, 18:06:19 UTC. 5.5 S, 130 E, depth 190 km, magnitude 7.5 MS.
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #88 Duda, Seweryn J. (1965). Secular seismic energy release in the circum-Pacific belt. Tectonophysics, vol. 2, no. 5, p. 409-452. DOI:10.1016/0040-1951(65)90035-1
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 25, 1852, Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia
- September 12, 1763, Bandaneira, Indonesia
- August 1, 1629, Banda Sea, Indonesia
- January 9, 2023, Banda Sea, Indonesia
- September 25, 1859, Neira I, Lonthor I, Indonesia
- November 26, 1841, N. Moluccas Islands, Indonesia
- January 15, 1975, Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia
- December 24, 1852, Bandaneira, Indonesia
- 1630, Banda Sea, Indonesia
- July 20, 1859, Lonthor Island, Indonesia
- March 6, 1710, Bandaneira, Indonesia
- October 10, 1882, Bandaneira, Indonesia
- November 23, 1890, Bandaneira, Indonesia
- November 2, 1950, Banda Sea, Indonesia
- November 4, 1963, Banda Sea, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1956The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1956Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4102.