Reviewed by USGSIndonesia90y ago
M5.6 earthquake 229 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia
Friday, December 17, 1937, 04:26:25 UTC · 9.092°S, 106.592°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 229 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia on Friday, December 17, 1937, 04:26:25 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on December 9, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.585 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaMay 12, 1923 · 284 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3157 km WSW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaJanuary 18, 1931 · 202 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.083 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaApril 24, 1919 · 148 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8248 km SSW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaMarch 15, 1930 · 80 km W of this epicenter
- 5.898 km SW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1934 · 178 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.899 km SSE of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaJuly 13, 1933 · 139 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8103 km S of Banjar, IndonesiaSeptember 8, 1927 · 136 km NE 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:
- 1834
Java: Bogor, Cinajur
10 Oct 1834 · 270 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1900
Java: Sukabumi
14 Jan 1900 · 254 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1903M8.1
S Of Java
27 Feb 1903 · 138 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.