Reviewed by USGSIndonesia87y ago
M6.0 earthquake 270 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia
Friday, May 10, 1940, 18:59:32 UTC · 9.806°S, 107.898°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 270 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia on Friday, May 10, 1940, 18:59:32 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on March 21, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
13 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 28 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
28 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda 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 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 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.992 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 27, 1937 · 300 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3south of Java, IndonesiaMarch 21, 1940 · 50 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2166 km SSW of Bambanglipuro, IndonesiaAugust 31, 1918 · 222 km E of this epicenter
- 6.083 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaApril 24, 1919 · 239 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.0186 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1926 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 5.8248 km SSW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaMarch 15, 1930 · 236 km W of this epicenter
- 5.899 km SSE of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaJuly 13, 1933 · 248 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1937M7.2
Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan
27 Sep 1937 · 256 km away · intensity IX
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1863
Java: Banyumas
31 Jul 1863 · 299 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1923
Java: Maos
15 May 1923 · 274 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1903M8.1
S Of Java
27 Feb 1903 · 289 km away
- 1904
S. Java
7 Sep 1904 · 264 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.