QuakeScout
Magnitude6.8

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia59y ago

M6.8 earthquake 35 km SW of Ruteng, Indonesia

Friday, January 26, 1968, 04:45:43 UTC · 8.869°S, 120.265°E

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 35 km SW of Ruteng, Indonesia on Friday, January 26, 1968, 04:45:43 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on October 20, 1938.

Magnitude
6.8
Strong · mw
Depth
25 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
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

239 kilotons of TNT

That is about 16 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 501 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

37 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

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 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 28 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 271 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 179 km W of this epicenter
  3. 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 163 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 48 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.543 km N of Ende, IndonesiaMarch 16, 1961 · 165 km E of this epicenter
  6. 6.386 km N of Ruteng, IndonesiaApril 23, 1949 · 120 km N of this epicenter
  7. 6.377 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 139 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 6.362 km S of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 150 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:

  1. 1820M7.5

    Sulawesi: Makasar

    29 Dec 1820 · 250 km away · intensity X

    500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1961M6.5

    Flores: Endeh

    16 Mar 1961 · 205 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1828

    Sulawesi

    29 Dec 1828 · 250 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1836M7.5

    Flores Sea

    28 Nov 1836 · 183 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1954M6.8

    Sumabawa: Bima,Raba

    2 Nov 1954 · 169 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)

  6. 1837

    Sumbawa Island: Bima

    28 Nov 1837 · 198 km away · intensity IX

    Limited damage (under $1M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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