Reviewed by USGSIndonesia61y ago
M5.8 earthquake 127 km S of Praya, Indonesia
Wednesday, February 9, 1966, 07:18:50 UTC · 9.851°S, 116.376°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 127 km S of Praya, Indonesia on Wednesday, February 9, 1966, 07:18:50 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on May 22, 1963.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 45 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
159 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
45 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 16 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 · 261 km E of this epicenter
- 6.57 km WNW of Ubud, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 199 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaDecember 21, 1938 · 263 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaApril 13, 1951 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2282 km SSW of Jimbaran, IndonesiaOctober 23, 1925 · 284 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1149 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaFebruary 24, 1931 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0133 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaNovember 22, 1945 · 261 km E of this epicenter
- 5.9186 km SSE of Sumbawa Besar, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1962 · 162 km E 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 11,489 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1815M7.3
Bali
22 Nov 1815 · 253 km away · intensity IX
11,453 deathstsunami
- 1857M7.0
Timor Island:: Dilhi, Gera
13 May 1857 · 227 km away
36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 277 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1930M6.5
S. Java Sea
19 Jul 1930 · 236 km away
tsunami
- 1963M6.0
Bali
18 May 1963 · 202 km away
- 1856
Lombok Island
25 Jul 1856 · 156 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.