Reviewed by USGSIndonesia58y ago
M6.4 earthquake 157 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 13, 1969, 14:30:22 UTC · 7.221°S, 120.792°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 157 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 13, 1969, 14:30:22 UTC, at a depth of 631.7 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on January 26, 1968.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 632 km
- Deep
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- II
- Weak (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
56 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 117 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
27 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
632 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 290 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 148 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 192 km S of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 223 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 165 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 290 km E of this epicenter
- 6.543 km N of Ende, IndonesiaMarch 16, 1961 · 170 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.386 km N of Ruteng, IndonesiaApril 23, 1949 · 72 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 502 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 199 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 172 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 199 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 260 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 290 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.