Reviewed by USGSIndonesia64y ago
M5.9 earthquake 186 km SSE of Sumbawa Besar, Indonesia
Friday, November 2, 1962, 14:46:40 UTC · 10.133°S, 117.823°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 186 km SSE of Sumbawa Besar, Indonesia on Friday, November 2, 1962, 14:46:40 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on April 6, 1959.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
135 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
25 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 18 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 134 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 257 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.377 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 198 km E of this epicenter
- 6.362 km S of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 267 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaDecember 21, 1938 · 113 km E of this epicenter
- 6.384 km S of Komodo, IndonesiaJanuary 2, 1936 · 208 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaApril 13, 1951 · 134 km E of this epicenter
- 6.356 km S of Komodo, IndonesiaJuly 30, 1935 · 214 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 225 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 270 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 196 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1836
Flores Sea
5 Mar 1836 · 225 km away
tsunami
- 1856
Lombok Island
25 Jul 1856 · 270 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.