January 15, 1975 Earthquake: Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia

Name: January 15, 1975 Earthquake: Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia
Start: 1975-01-15
Location: Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia

January 15, 1975 · M5.9 · 81 houses destroyed

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia on January 15, 1975 at 09:42:24 UTC. It caused a tsunami.

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: January 15, 1975
Time: 09:42:24 UTC
Place: Bandanaira, Maluku, Indonesia
Magnitude: 5.9 (Ms)
Intensity: VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 5.000° S, 130.000° E
Country: Indonesia
Region: Central and South Pacific

The toll

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: 81
Houses damaged: 6

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

1975, January 15. Banda Island: Maluku - heavy damage at Bandanaira, 81 houses seriously damaged, 4 houses moderately damaged and 2 houses slightly damaged. The earthquake was followed by a tsunami. (reference #1188)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

#1188 Soetardjo, M. Untung, and E.P. Arnold (1985). Southeast Asia Association of Seismology, Series on Seismology, vol. V - Indonesia, U.S. Geological Survey.
#12633 Sadly, M. (BMKG, Indonesia) (2019). Catalog: Significant and Damaging Earthquakes 1821-2018. (Indonesia). Katalog gempabumi signifikan dan merusak 1821-2017, jakarta: Pusat gempabumi dan tsunami bmkg. Accessed January 2020.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1975 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1975 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 4676.