Reviewed by USGSIndonesia98y ago
M6.5 earthquake 131 km NE of Nabire, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 7, 1929, 16:35:20 UTC · 2.580°S, 136.397°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 131 km NE of Nabire, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 7, 1929, 16:35:20 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on September 16, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
88 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 184 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
30 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 90 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 240 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 97 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 104 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.9148 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 5, 1922 · 173 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 126 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8221 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 10, 1921 · 260 km E of this epicenter
- 6.5175 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaSeptember 16, 1923 · 295 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 234 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 103 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 269 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 64 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 110 km away
- 1926M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
26 Oct 1926 · 255 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.