May 14, 1995 Earthquake: Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara, Indonesia

Name: May 14, 1995 Earthquake: Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara, Indonesia
Start: 1995-05-14
Location: Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara, Indonesia

May 14, 1995 · M6.9 · 11 deaths

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara, Indonesia on May 14, 1995 at 11:33:21 UTC, 13 km below the surface. It killed 11 people, counting the tsunami it caused.

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: May 14, 1995
Time: 11:33:21 UTC
Place: Timor, Dili, Maliana, Maubara, Indonesia
Magnitude: 6.9 (Mw)
Focal depth: 13 km (8 mi)
Intensity: 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 8.452° S, 125.049° E
Country: Indonesia

The toll

Deaths: 11 with its tsunami and other effects
Injuries: 19 with its tsunami and other effects
Damage: Limited (under about $1 million) with its tsunami and other effects
Houses destroyed: Some (about 51 to 100) with its tsunami and other effects

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.

On May 14, 1995, a magnitude 6.9 Ms (Mw 6.9) (HRV) earthquake occurred at 11:33 UT in the Flores Sea, Indonesia. Eleven people were missing fiom Timor, 19 injured, and a 1.5-meter tsunami destroyed several homes in the Dili area and damaged 40 fishing boats. Considerable damage also occurred in the Maliana region. The ITIC reported that they received a report from Indonesia that

this was a subsidence and no one saw a wave return. In an email on May 30, Prasetya said, We conclude that no tsunamis have been generated directly by the earthquake which was reported by the newspaper to have occurred on 14 May 1995. The wave run-up occurred at some places due to land subsidence in coastal areas.'' There is probably a problem with the understanding of the definition of

a tsunami. The subsided areas were discontinuous, and the inundation was 120 meters. (reference #1315)

Eleven people missing on Timor. Several houses destroyed by a local tsunami in the Dili area. Considerable damage also occurred in the Maliana and Maubara areas. Landslides occurred in the epicentral area. (reference #1053)

According to local BMG office yesterday, the epicentrum located at Timor sea around l50 km south east Dili... I have new information from BMG centre office at Jakarta that Epicentrum of the earthquake are located at Ombai straits

between Flores island and Timor island. Depth of Epicentrum 47 km and around 70 km (westward) from Dili. exact position 8.47 South latitude and 124.97 East Longitude with 6-7 MMI. The maximum water depth in this strait are 3 km. (reference #350)

1995, May 14, 11:33:21.05 UTC. 8.452 S, 125.049 E, depth 12.7 km, magnitude 6.9 Mw. (reference #9910)

1995, May 14, 11:33:20.92 UTC. 8.363 S, 124.997 E, depth 12.9 km, magnitude 6.86 Mw. (reference #10476)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1995 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1995 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5410.