M7.7 earthquake 26 km S of Sijunjung, Indonesia

Wednesday, June 9, 1943, 03:06:18 UTC · 0.938°S, 100.937°E

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 26 km S of Sijunjung, Indonesia on Wednesday, June 9, 1943, 03:06:18 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 7.7; Major · mw
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (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

5.9 megatons of TNT

That is about 394 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 12,445 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

132 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

10 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 200 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 24 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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 300 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 239 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1909M7.6
Sw Sumatra: Kerintji, Redjanglebong
3 Jun 1909 · 118 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1833M8.3
Sumatra: Bengkulu
24 Nov 1833 · 180 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1926M6.6
Sumatera
28 Jun 1926 · 123 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1926
Sumatra
5 Jul 1926 · 93 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1861M6.5
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1861 · 121 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers