Reviewed by USGSIndonesia87y ago
M5.9 earthquake 190 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia
Sunday, December 8, 1940, 06:11:00 UTC · 9.108°S, 108.178°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 190 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia on Sunday, December 8, 1940, 06:11:00 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on May 10, 1940.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
10 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 21 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
110 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
35 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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6233 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1921 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1138 km SSE of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 10, 1926 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 6.992 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 27, 1937 · 249 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3south of Java, IndonesiaMarch 21, 1940 · 134 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2166 km SSW of Bambanglipuro, IndonesiaAugust 31, 1918 · 189 km E of this epicenter
- 6.083 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaApril 24, 1919 · 190 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.0186 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1926 · 245 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 800 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1924
Java: Wonosobo
2 Dec 1924 · 276 km away · intensity IX
727 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1924
Java
12 Nov 1924 · 269 km away
60 deaths
- 1875
W Java: Kuningan
25 Oct 1875 · 246 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1867
Java: Jogyakarta, Surakarta
10 Jun 1867 · 284 km away · intensity IX
5 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1937M7.2
Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan
27 Sep 1937 · 224 km away · intensity IX
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1840M7.0
Java: Purworejo
4 Jan 1840 · 283 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.