Reviewed by USGSIndonesia56y ago
M6.7 earthquake 12 km ESE of Nabire, Indonesia
Sunday, November 8, 1970, 22:35:46 UTC · 3.383°S, 135.607°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 12 km ESE of Nabire, Indonesia on Sunday, November 8, 1970, 22:35:46 UTC, at a depth of 22.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on June 22, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 22 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
13 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
22 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 59 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 35 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7147 km E of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 6, 1943 · 294 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 277 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.182 km SE of Biak, IndonesiaJune 22, 1957 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.196 km SSW of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 1942 · 101 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 22 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 273 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 260 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 228 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 61 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 44 km away
- 1915M6.0
Nw. Irian Jaya
6 Nov 1915 · 269 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.