M7.1 earthquake 205 km NNE of Gili Air, Indonesia

Wednesday, August 11, 1937, 00:55:56 UTC · 6.538°S, 116.479°E

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 205 km NNE of Gili Air, Indonesia on Wednesday, August 11, 1937, 00:55:56 UTC, at a depth of 610.0 km (deep). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 7.1; Major · mw
Depth: 610 km; Deep
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: III; Weak (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

674 kilotons of TNT

That is about 45 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,413 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

415 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: deep

610 km

Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.

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 200 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

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, which together caused about 13,489 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1815M7.3
Bali
22 Nov 1815 · 246 km away · intensity IX
11,453 deathstsunami
1917M6.6
Bali
20 Jan 1917 · 74 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 283 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1857M7.0
Timor Island:: Dilhi, Gera
13 May 1857 · 195 km away
36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 283 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1818M8.5
Sumbawa Island: Bima
8 Nov 1818 · 77 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers