QuakeScout
Magnitude6.3

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia59y ago

M6.3 earthquake 117 km NNW of Sumenep, Indonesia

Tuesday, January 30, 1968, 03:44:25 UTC · 6.066°S, 113.373°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 117 km NNW of Sumenep, Indonesia on Tuesday, January 30, 1968, 03:44:25 UTC, at a depth of 596.0 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on March 24, 1967.

Magnitude
6.3
Strong · mw
Depth
596 km
Deep
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

37 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 78 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

524 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: deep

596 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 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 6.7101 km N of Paciran, IndonesiaMarch 24, 1967 · 127 km W of this epicenter
  2. 6.69 km NW of Tuban, IndonesiaJune 19, 1950 · 172 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 6.5141 km NNE of Singaraja, IndonesiaApril 10, 1934 · 264 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.1206 km SSW of Banjarmasin, IndonesiaApril 21, 1935 · 127 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.1184 km N of Sumenep, IndonesiaFebruary 28, 1936 · 104 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.0128 km N of Singaraja, IndonesiaAugust 17, 1953 · 226 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 5.829 km SSW of Dampit, IndonesiaFebruary 29, 1964 · 278 km S of this epicenter
  8. 5.718 km SE of Cepu, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1957 · 227 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,469 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1815M7.3

    Bali

    22 Nov 1815 · 282 km away · intensity IX

    11,453 deathstsunami

  2. 1950M6.5

    Java: Gresik

    19 Jun 1950 · 42 km away · intensity VII

    16 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

  3. 1890

    Java: Pati

    12 Dec 1890 · 269 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1843M6.0

    Java: Genteng Island

    7 Feb 1843 · 144 km away

    tsunami

  5. 1889M6.0

    Madura Island, Java

    23 Nov 1889 · 105 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1925

    Banda Sea

    8 Jan 1925 · 280 km away · intensity III

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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