QuakeScout
Magnitude6.3

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia83y ago

M6.3 earthquake 136 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia

Thursday, September 14, 1944, 06:39:02 UTC · 8.608°S, 108.046°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 136 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia on Thursday, September 14, 1944, 06:39:02 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on July 23, 1943.

Magnitude
6.3
Strong · mw
Depth
35 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

43 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

158 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

35 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 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 197 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.1138 km SSE of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 10, 1926 · 291 km E of this epicenter
  3. 6.992 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 27, 1937 · 262 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.3south of Java, IndonesiaMarch 21, 1940 · 183 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.2166 km SSW of Bambanglipuro, IndonesiaAugust 31, 1918 · 220 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.083 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaApril 24, 1919 · 141 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 6.0186 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1926 · 278 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,013 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1924

    Java: Wonosobo

    2 Dec 1924 · 251 km away · intensity IX

    727 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1943M8.1

    Java: Jogyakarta

    23 Jul 1943 · 236 km away · intensity VIII

    213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1924

    Java

    12 Nov 1924 · 242 km away

    60 deaths

  4. 1875

    W Java: Kuningan

    25 Oct 1875 · 192 km away · intensity VIII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1867

    Java: Jogyakarta, Surakarta

    10 Jun 1867 · 274 km away · intensity IX

    5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1937M7.2

    Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan

    27 Sep 1937 · 252 km away · intensity IX

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages