Reviewed by USGSIndonesia93y ago
M6.3 earthquake 166 km SW of Nabire, Indonesia
Friday, February 2, 1934, 15:05:22 UTC · 4.259°S, 134.297°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 166 km SW of Nabire, Indonesia on Friday, February 2, 1934, 15:05:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on May 7, 1929.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- 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
51 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 106 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
28 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Birds Head 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 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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 202 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 195 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 173 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.6203 km WSW of Nabire, IndonesiaDecember 7, 1928 · 53 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5131 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaMay 7, 1929 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4212 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaMay 17, 1924 · 258 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.266 km NW of Tual, IndonesiaMay 6, 1929 · 252 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.015 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaDecember 3, 1929 · 181 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:
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 235 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 193 km away
- 1915
Kaimana
23 May 1915 · 96 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.