Reviewed by USGSIndonesia86y ago
M6.2 earthquake 161 km ENE of Sorong, Indonesia
Sunday, September 14, 1941, 04:08:44 UTC · 0.387°S, 132.630°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 161 km ENE of Sorong, Indonesia on Sunday, September 14, 1941, 04:08:44 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on September 12, 1941.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
33 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 70 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
42 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Caroline plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on September 18, 1941. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
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:
- 7.360 km WNW of Sorong, IndonesiaNovember 10, 1925 · 204 km W of this epicenter
- 7.061 km ENE of Sorong, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1927 · 102 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0141 km ENE of Sorong, IndonesiaNovember 9, 1930 · 24 km W of this epicenter
- 6.868 km W of Manokwari, IndonesiaJuly 19, 1934 · 103 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.866 km W of Manokwari, IndonesiaApril 5, 1937 · 104 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5161 km WNW of Manokwari, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 1941 · 8 km E of this epicenter
- 6.4212 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaMay 17, 1924 · 225 km S of this epicenter
- 6.473 km N of Manokwari, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 1918 · 166 km E 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, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 272 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938
New Guinea: Fakfak
13 Feb 1938 · 293 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1937
New Guinea: Fakfak
6 Nov 1937 · 293 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.