Reviewed by USGSIndonesia96y ago
M5.7 earthquake 39 km E of Pototano, Indonesia
Thursday, April 16, 1931, 11:55:54 UTC · 8.346°S, 117.835°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 39 km E of Pototano, Indonesia on Thursday, April 16, 1931, 11:55:54 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on February 24, 1931.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
301 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor 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 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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 117 km N of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.57 km WNW of Ubud, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 291 km W of this epicenter
- 6.377 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1149 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaFebruary 24, 1931 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.857 km NNE of Labuan Lombok, IndonesiaMay 8, 1930 · 115 km W of this epicenter
- 5.7123 km W of Waingapu, IndonesiaJuly 26, 1928 · 214 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.5158 km SSW of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1930 · 171 km S 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, which together caused about 2,036 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1917M6.6
Bali
20 Jan 1917 · 252 km away · intensity IX
1,500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 197 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1857M7.0
Timor Island:: Dilhi, Gera
13 May 1857 · 260 km away
36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 197 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1818M8.5
Sumbawa Island: Bima
8 Nov 1818 · 176 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 95 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.