Earthquakes near Ambon through history
From 1900 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 24 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 100 km of Ambon, or 200 km for magnitude 7 and above. 6 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest on either list was an estimated magnitude 7.8 on September 29, 1899 (Banda Sea).
The last 30 days · as of
USGS recorded no earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or more within 100 km of Ambon in the last 30 days.
What the record holds
It was also the deadliest: NOAA records 2,460 deaths for it. NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes has 30 here, back to 1657. NOAA records deaths in 9 of the events here, 4,832 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 5.2 on November 12, 2019 (20 km NE of Ambon, Indonesia). NOAA’s record here begins in December 1657 with an earthquake (Banda Sea). 21 of the 30 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here came before 1927. NOAA lists 20 tsunamis that began within 100 km of Ambon, and 3 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 100 m, on February 17, 1674. The deadliest, on February 17, 1674, killed 2,244 people here by NOAA’s runup records.
The events
- November 12, 2019Earthquake · M 5.220 km NE of Ambon, Indonesia · 2 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI
- January 27, 2006Earthquake · M 7.6196 km S of Ambon, IndonesiaUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- September 29, 1899Earthquake · M 7.8 (est.)Banda Sea · 2,460 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- February 17, 1674Tsunami · 100 m hereBanda Sea · 2,244 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- December 1657EarthquakeBanda SeaNOAA NCEI
Good to know
- An event counts for Ambon when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
- USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
- NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
- Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
- A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
- Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history