QuakeScout
Magnitude6.4

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia91y ago

M6.4 earthquake 294 km NW of Ambon, Indonesia

Monday, October 19, 1936, 12:04:23 UTC · 1.990°S, 126.145°E

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 294 km NW of Ambon, Indonesia on Monday, October 19, 1936, 12:04:23 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on May 14, 1932.

Magnitude
6.4
Strong · mw
Depth
15 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

64 kilotons of TNT

That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 135 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

130 km

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

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

  1. 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 266 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 288 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.0121 km ESE of Labuha, IndonesiaMay 1, 1904 · 277 km E of this epicenter
  4. 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 6.7236 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1926 · 82 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.6148 km ESE of Tondano, IndonesiaJuly 10, 1926 · 287 km N of this epicenter
  7. 6.5232 km NNW of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 6, 1913 · 235 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.325 km NNW of Ambon, IndonesiaSeptember 9, 1932 · 274 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,467 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1899M7.8

    Banda Sea

    29 Sep 1899 · 285 km away

    2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1932M7.7

    Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano

    14 May 1932 · 266 km away · intensity VII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1859M7.3

    Sulawesi

    29 Jul 1859 · 234 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1841M6.0

    Banda Sea

    16 Dec 1841 · 269 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1802

    Banda Sea

    Aug 1802 · 297 km away · intensity X

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1835

    Maluku: Ambon

    1 Nov 1835 · 297 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

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