Reviewed by USGSIndonesia84y ago
M7.7 earthquake 147 km E of Tual, Indonesia
Saturday, November 6, 1943, 08:31:40 UTC · 5.546°S, 134.085°E
A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 147 km E of Tual, Indonesia on Saturday, November 6, 1943, 08:31:40 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.5 on February 1, 1938.
- Magnitude
- 7.7
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
4.5 megatons of TNT
That is about 299 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9,441 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
16 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Australian 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 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 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.51938 Banda Sea EarthquakeFebruary 1, 1938 · 279 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 155 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.196 km SSW of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 1942 · 193 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 294 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7158 km SW of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 18, 1919 · 283 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6203 km WSW of Nabire, IndonesiaDecember 7, 1928 · 159 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3166 km SW of Nabire, IndonesiaFebruary 2, 1934 · 145 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3113 km W of Tual, IndonesiaMarch 11, 1931 · 261 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1938M8.6
New Guinea
1 Feb 1938 · 279 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1943M7.6
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Aru Islands
6 Nov 1943 · 68 km away
- 1915
Kaimana
23 May 1915 · 216 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.