Reviewed by USGSIndonesia86y ago
M5.8 earthquake 30 km N of Kotabumi, Indonesia
Friday, October 3, 1941, 14:17:24 UTC · 4.551°S, 104.925°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 30 km N of Kotabumi, Indonesia on Friday, October 3, 1941, 14:17:24 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on April 18, 1941.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
388 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
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 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:
- 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 78 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 10, 1931 · 273 km W of this epicenter
- 6.769 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaApril 15, 1916 · 259 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7177 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaOctober 22, 1925 · 264 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 246 km S of this epicenter
- 6.668 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 14, 1931 · 209 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5157 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 19, 1931 · 278 km W of this epicenter
- 6.585 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaMay 12, 1923 · 264 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 69 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 246 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1896M6.8
Sw. Sumatra, Java
10 Oct 1896 · 293 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1852M6.5
Java: Djakarta; Sumatra: Telukbetung
9 Jan 1852 · 226 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1757M7.5
Jakarta
24 Aug 1757 · 281 km away
tsunami
- 1933M7.5
S Sumatera
24 Jun 1933 · 80 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.