QuakeScout
Magnitude6.9

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia70y ago

M6.9 earthquake 183 km N of Rengasdengklok, Indonesia

Tuesday, April 16, 1957, 04:04:08 UTC · 4.509°S, 107.116°E

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 183 km N of Rengasdengklok, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 16, 1957, 04:04:08 UTC, at a depth of 596.3 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on April 1, 1943.

Magnitude
6.9
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

338 kilotons of TNT

That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

493 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. 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 285 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 263 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 299 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 6.429 km W of Labuan, IndonesiaMarch 24, 1948 · 270 km SW of this epicenter
  5. 6.343 km W of Labuan, IndonesiaJune 24, 1949 · 276 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 6.123 km SSE of Bandar Lampung, IndonesiaJune 19, 1930 · 234 km SW of this epicenter
  7. 5.811 km WSW of Indramayu, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1931 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 5.830 km N of Kotabumi, IndonesiaOctober 3, 1941 · 243 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1875

    W Java: Kuningan

    25 Oct 1875 · 296 km away · intensity VIII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1834

    Java: Bogor, Cinajur

    10 Oct 1834 · 244 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1933M5.8

    S Sumatera

    25 Jun 1933 · 295 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  4. 1847

    Java: Cheribon

    16 Nov 1847 · 288 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1900

    Java: Sukabumi

    14 Jan 1900 · 260 km away · intensity VII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1852M6.5

    Java: Djakarta; Sumatra: Telukbetung

    9 Jan 1852 · 285 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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