Reviewed by USGSIndonesia85y ago
M6.6 earthquake 3 km ESE of Sabang, Indonesia
Friday, January 30, 1942, 12:12:09 UTC · 5.879°N, 95.349°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 3 km ESE of Sabang, Indonesia on Friday, January 30, 1942, 12:12:09 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on August 23, 1936.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- 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
138 kilotons of TNT
That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 288 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
4 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 25 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 98 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 243 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 212 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.6249 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMarch 5, 1921 · 254 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5253 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1907 · 257 km W of this epicenter
- 6.327 km E of Meulaboh, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1912 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3184 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaNovember 25, 1935 · 188 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 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 · 76 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 83 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 246 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1935M6.5
Celebes Sea
25 Nov 1935 · 155 km away
tsunami
- 1816
Penang Island
1 May 1816 · 161 km away
tsunami
- 1885
Banda Atjeh
14 Dec 1885 · 37 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.