Reviewed by USGSIndonesia71y ago
M6.3 earthquake 267 km NNW of Sabang, Indonesia
Wednesday, January 11, 1956, 06:10:11 UTC · 8.002°N, 94.133°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 267 km NNW of Sabang, Indonesia on Wednesday, January 11, 1956, 06:10:11 UTC, at a depth of 14.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on May 17, 1955.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
40 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 83 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
47 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 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 37 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 134 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 130 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 272 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6249 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMarch 5, 1921 · 86 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5253 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1907 · 197 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5171 km S of Port Blair, IndiaApril 19, 1936 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3273 km SSE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 21, 1916 · 160 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3184 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaNovember 25, 1935 · 269 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 221 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 196 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 90 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1955M7.3
Little Nicobar Island
17 May 1955 · 168 km away
tsunami
- 1935M6.5
Celebes Sea
25 Nov 1935 · 279 km away
tsunami
- 1948M6.2
Off Northwest Coast
2 Jun 1948 · 242 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.