Reviewed by USGSIndonesia101y ago
M5.9 earthquake 264 km W of Nabire, Indonesia
Tuesday, October 26, 1926, 01:59:17 UTC · 3.100°S, 133.133°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 264 km W of Nabire, Indonesia on Tuesday, October 26, 1926, 01:59:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on May 17, 1924.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
128 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Banda 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on November 2, 1926. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 282 km E of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 285 km E of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 271 km E of this epicenter
- 6.4212 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaMay 17, 1924 · 82 km N of this epicenter
- 6.323 km W of Manokwari, IndonesiaFebruary 19, 1921 · 262 km N of this epicenter
- 5.9156 km WSW of Manokwari, IndonesiaAugust 7, 1917 · 177 km N 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:
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 263 km away
- 1915
Kaimana
23 May 1915 · 87 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.