Reviewed by USGSIndonesia97y ago
M6.6 earthquake 68 km SSW of Pagar Alam, Indonesia
Saturday, February 14, 1931, 13:58:58 UTC · 4.610°S, 103.038°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 68 km SSW of Pagar Alam, Indonesia on Saturday, February 14, 1931, 13:58:58 UTC, at a depth of 60.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on February 10, 1931.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 60 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: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
104 kilotons of TNT
That is about 7 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 219 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
241 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
60 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on February 19, 1931. 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 22 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 10, 1931 · 96 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.769 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaApril 15, 1916 · 57 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7106 km S of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJuly 1, 1926 · 261 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7177 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaOctober 22, 1925 · 109 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5104 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaOctober 12, 1919 · 178 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 20 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 155 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 123 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 54 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1818M7.0
Sumatra: Bengkulu
18 Mar 1818 · 184 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1896M6.8
Sw. Sumatra, Java
10 Oct 1896 · 137 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1930M6.0
Java-S. Java Sea
19 Jun 1930 · 274 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.