QuakeScout
Magnitude6.1

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia67y ago

M6.1 earthquake 129 km SE of Tobelo, Indonesia

Sunday, March 6, 1960, 02:22:15 UTC · 0.852°N, 128.776°E

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 129 km SE of Tobelo, Indonesia on Sunday, March 6, 1960, 02:22:15 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on March 5, 1960.

Magnitude
6.1
Strong · mw
Depth
30 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
V
Moderate (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

21 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 45 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

51 km

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

Depth: shallow

30 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 48 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 186 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.4193 km W of Sorong, IndonesiaOctober 7, 1923 · 245 km S of this epicenter
  3. 7.360 km WNW of Sorong, IndonesiaNovember 10, 1925 · 276 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.1129 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaMay 3, 1925 · 278 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.086 km NNW of Tobelo, IndonesiaMarch 27, 1949 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
  6. 7.0121 km ESE of Labuha, IndonesiaMay 1, 1904 · 219 km S of this epicenter
  7. 7.0146 km E of Laikit, Laikit II (Dimembe), IndonesiaOctober 5, 1936 · 292 km W of this epicenter
  8. 7.0134 km ESE of Laikit, Laikit II (Dimembe), IndonesiaSeptember 14, 1949 · 298 km W 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 34 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1855

    Maluku: Ternate Island

    14 Jul 1855 · 164 km away · intensity IX

    34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  2. 1889M8.0

    N. Moluccas Islands

    6 Sep 1889 · 281 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1840

    Maluku: Ternate Island

    14 Feb 1840 · 161 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1907M7.9

    Djailolo Gilolo

    25 Jun 1907 · 198 km away

  5. 1923M7.5

    Djailolo Gilolo

    7 Oct 1923 · 289 km away

  6. 1846M7.3

    N. Moluccas Islands

    25 Jan 1846 · 283 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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