Reviewed by USGSIndonesia63y ago
M6.5 earthquake 44 km W of Labuan, Indonesia
Monday, December 16, 1963, 01:51:30 UTC · 6.399°S, 105.431°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 44 km W of Labuan, Indonesia on Monday, December 16, 1963, 01:51:30 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on April 16, 1957.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 45 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
76 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 160 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
217 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 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 45 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 162 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 18 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9183 km N of Rengasdengklok, IndonesiaApril 16, 1957 · 281 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 25 km S of this epicenter
- 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 45 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5271 km S of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1921 · 269 km W of this epicenter
- 6.585 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaMay 12, 1923 · 59 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1834
Java: Bogor, Cinajur
10 Oct 1834 · 177 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 186 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1900
Java: Sukabumi
14 Jan 1900 · 176 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1963M6.6
Java: Labuhan, Menes, Ponorogo
16 Dec 1963 · 3 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1852M6.5
Java: Djakarta; Sumatra: Telukbetung
9 Jan 1852 · 14 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.1
S Of Java
27 Feb 1903 · 189 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.