Reviewed by USGSIndonesia89y ago
M6.3 earthquake 139 km SSE of Dompu, Indonesia
Wednesday, December 21, 1938, 12:26:45 UTC · 9.761°S, 118.779°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 139 km SSE of Dompu, Indonesia on Wednesday, December 21, 1938, 12:26:45 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on November 28, 1928.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- Strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
177 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
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 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 14 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 289 km N of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 55 km N of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 238 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.377 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 94 km E of this epicenter
- 6.362 km S of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 170 km E of this epicenter
- 6.384 km S of Komodo, IndonesiaJanuary 2, 1936 · 96 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.356 km S of Komodo, IndonesiaJuly 30, 1935 · 106 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.1163 km SSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaMarch 15, 1925 · 168 km SE 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. The most severe:
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 163 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 144 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1836
Flores Sea
5 Mar 1836 · 163 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.