Reviewed by USGSIndonesia94y ago
M7.5 earthquake 48 km SW of Kotabumi, Indonesia
Saturday, June 24, 1933, 21:54:50 UTC · 5.183°S, 104.630°E
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 48 km SW of Kotabumi, Indonesia on Saturday, June 24, 1933, 21:54:50 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.5
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2.9 megatons of TNT
That is about 191 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6,026 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
310 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
20 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 200 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on June 25, 1933. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 27 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 262 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 10, 1931 · 226 km W of this epicenter
- 6.769 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaApril 15, 1916 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7177 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaOctober 22, 1925 · 211 km W of this epicenter
- 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 185 km S of this epicenter
- 6.668 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 14, 1931 · 188 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5271 km S of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1921 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5157 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 19, 1931 · 235 km W of this epicenter
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. The most severe:
- 1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 292 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 24 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 209 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1852M6.5
Java: Djakarta; Sumatra: Telukbetung
9 Jan 1852 · 175 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1757M7.5
Jakarta
24 Aug 1757 · 278 km away
tsunami
- 1933M7.5
S Sumatera
24 Jun 1933 · 12 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.