QuakeScout
Magnitude5.8

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia100y ago

M5.8 earthquake 105 km NW of Nabire, Indonesia

Saturday, September 17, 1927, 00:45:19 UTC · 2.827°S, 134.714°E

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 105 km NW of Nabire, Indonesia on Saturday, September 17, 1927, 00:45:19 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on November 2, 1926.

Magnitude
5.8
Moderate · mw
Depth
35 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

7 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

125 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

35 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 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 265 km E of this epicenter
  2. 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 110 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 117 km E of this epicenter
  4. 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 110 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 6.5110 km SSE of Biak, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1914 · 230 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.4212 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaMay 17, 1924 · 206 km W of this epicenter
  7. 6.482 km S of Biak, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 6.473 km N of Manokwari, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 1918 · 300 km N 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 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1864M7.8

    Irian Jaya: Manokwari

    23 May 1864 · 206 km away · intensity VII

    250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1914M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen

    26 May 1914 · 271 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1916M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya

    13 Jan 1916 · 144 km away

  4. 1916M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya

    13 Jan 1916 · 89 km away

  5. 1915M6.0

    Nw. Irian Jaya

    6 Nov 1915 · 248 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1915

    Kaimana

    23 May 1915 · 145 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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