Reviewed by USGSIndonesia98y ago
M6.0 earthquake 149 km WNW of Sorong, Indonesia
Saturday, March 23, 1929, 19:59:47 UTC · 0.391°S, 130.009°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 149 km WNW of Sorong, Indonesia on Saturday, March 23, 1929, 19:59:47 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on August 10, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · 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
17 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 36 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
110 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Philippine Sea 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 11 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4193 km W of Sorong, IndonesiaOctober 7, 1923 · 104 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.360 km WNW of Sorong, IndonesiaNovember 10, 1925 · 91 km E of this epicenter
- 7.061 km ENE of Sorong, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1927 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0121 km ESE of Labuha, IndonesiaMay 1, 1904 · 188 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5232 km NNW of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 6, 1913 · 232 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.4176 km NE of Amahai, IndonesiaNovember 5, 1906 · 218 km S of this epicenter
- 6.394 km SE of Sofifi, IndonesiaOctober 29, 1906 · 211 km W of this epicenter
- 6.2233 km SE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 22, 1925 · 155 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1923M7.5
Djailolo Gilolo
7 Oct 1923 · 206 km away
- 1860
Halmahera Island
6 Oct 1860 · 193 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.