Reviewed by USGSIndonesia101y ago
M7.0 earthquake 199 km SSW of Katabu, Indonesia
Thursday, March 3, 1927, 01:05:10 UTC · 6.668°S, 122.012°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 199 km SSW of Katabu, Indonesia on Thursday, March 3, 1927, 01:05:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (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
511 kilotons of TNT
That is about 34 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,072 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
145 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 218 km E of this epicenter
- 6.699 km NNW of Pante Makasar, Timor LesteMarch 28, 1923 · 292 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 162 km E of this epicenter
- 5.877 km NE of Ruteng, IndonesiaSeptember 28, 1926 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1897M5.5
Kajuadi Island
15 Mar 1897 · 135 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.