QuakeScout
Magnitude5.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia64y ago

M5.5 earthquake 79 km S of Muncar, Indonesia

Sunday, August 4, 1963, 07:08:43 UTC · 9.148°S, 114.329°E

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 79 km S of Muncar, Indonesia on Sunday, August 4, 1963, 07:08:43 UTC, at a depth of 65.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on May 22, 1963.

Magnitude
5.5
Moderate · mw
Depth
65 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

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/7 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

209 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

65 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:

  1. 6.7169 km S of Boyolangu, IndonesiaJuly 7, 1910 · 298 km W of this epicenter
  2. 6.668 km S of Sumberpucung, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1916 · 220 km W of this epicenter
  3. 6.57 km WNW of Ubud, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 120 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 6.5141 km NNE of Singaraja, IndonesiaApril 10, 1934 · 282 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.3113 km S of Sumberpucung, IndonesiaDecember 21, 1962 · 219 km W of this epicenter
  6. 6.2282 km SSW of Jimbaran, IndonesiaOctober 23, 1925 · 221 km S of this epicenter
  7. 6.1126 km S of Sumberpucung, IndonesiaDecember 22, 1962 · 224 km W of this epicenter
  8. 6.0268 km S of Dampit, IndonesiaNovember 22, 1958 · 254 km SW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 11,497 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1815M7.3

    Bali

    22 Nov 1815 · 132 km away · intensity IX

    11,453 deathstsunami

  2. 1857M7.0

    Timor Island:: Dilhi, Gera

    13 May 1857 · 181 km away

    36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1958M6.7

    Java: Malang

    20 Oct 1958 · 204 km away · intensity VIII

    8 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1916M7.3

    Java

    11 Sep 1916 · 147 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1930M6.5

    S. Java Sea

    19 Jul 1930 · 17 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1843M6.0

    Java: Genteng Island

    7 Feb 1843 · 220 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages