March 12, 1983 Earthquake: Banda Sea, Indonesia

Date

March 12, 1983

Time

01:36:35 UTC

Place

Banda Sea, Indonesia

Magnitude

6.5 (Ms)

Focal depth

17 km (11 mi)

Tsunami

Yes: the tsunami it caused

Epicenter

4.056° S, 127.924° E

Country

Indonesia

Damage

Limited (under about $1 million)

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.

• September 29, 1899, Banda Sea, IndonesiaM7.8 · 2,460 deaths · 134 km
• February 17, 1674, Ambon Island, Seram Island, IndonesiaM6.8 · 2,330 deaths · 39 km
• September 25, 2019, Ambon, Maluku, IndonesiaM6.5 · 31 deaths · 82 km
• August 18, 1754, Ambon Island, IndonesiaM6.5 · 4 deaths · 89 km
• March 14, 2006, Seram, IndonesiaM6.7 · 4 deaths · 241 houses destroyed · 94 km
• November 12, 2019, Ambon, Maluku, IndonesiaM5 · 2 deaths · 65 km
• September 5, 1711, Banda Sea, IndonesiaM7 · 2 deaths · 2 houses destroyed · 120 km
• October 31, 2017, Ambon, Maluku, IndonesiaM6.1 · 1 death · 39 km
• October 8, 1950, Seram, IndonesiaM7.6 · 1 death · 50 km
• October 10, 2019, Passo, IndonesiaM5 · 1 death · 56 km
• January 16, 2016, Buru, Ambalau Island, Maluku, IndonesiaM5.6 · 1 death · 80 km
• August 28, 1690, South Maluku, IndonesiaDeaths: few · 39 km
• December 16, 1841, Banda Sea, IndonesiaM6 · 47 km
• November 28, 1708, Banda Sea, Indonesia48 km
• May 6, 1674, Banda Sea, Indonesia50 km

Significant earthquakes of 1983The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1983Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6463.