Reviewed by USGSIndonesia83y ago
M5.8 earthquake 6 km SE of Purbalingga, Indonesia
Monday, April 17, 1944, 17:37:26 UTC · 7.428°S, 109.409°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 6 km SE of Purbalingga, Indonesia on Monday, April 17, 1944, 17:37:26 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on July 23, 1943.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
322 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
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 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 11 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 141 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1138 km SSE of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 10, 1926 · 236 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.992 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 27, 1937 · 187 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.2166 km SSW of Bambanglipuro, IndonesiaAugust 31, 1918 · 225 km S of this epicenter
- 6.083 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaApril 24, 1919 · 266 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0186 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1926 · 266 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.9190 km S of Kawalu, IndonesiaDecember 8, 1940 · 231 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.811 km WSW of Indramayu, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1931 · 175 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,015 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1924
Java: Wonosobo
2 Dec 1924 · 56 km away · intensity IX
727 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1943M8.1
Java: Jogyakarta
23 Jul 1943 · 239 km away · intensity VIII
213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1924
Java
12 Nov 1924 · 45 km away
60 deaths
- 1875
W Java: Kuningan
25 Oct 1875 · 136 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867
Java: Jogyakarta, Surakarta
10 Jun 1867 · 117 km away · intensity IX
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1859
S. Java Sea
20 Oct 1859 · 247 km away
2 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.