Reviewed by USGSIndonesia101y ago
M6.1 earthquake 130 km W of Abepura, Indonesia
Wednesday, October 27, 1926, 04:58:45 UTC · 2.626°S, 139.459°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 130 km W of Abepura, Indonesia on Wednesday, October 27, 1926, 04:58:45 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on October 26, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · 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
24 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 50 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
1 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Woodlark and Maoke plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 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 22 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 · 289 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 101 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 38 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 279 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.073 km ENE of Vanimo, Papua New GuineaDecember 15, 1907 · 272 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9148 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 5, 1922 · 267 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.825 km NNW of Jayapura, IndonesiaDecember 31, 1911 · 139 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8221 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 10, 1921 · 97 km SW 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 5 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 164 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 293 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 82 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1919
Irian Jaya Region
21 Nov 1919 · 144 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1926M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
26 Oct 1926 · 144 km away
- 1917M7.5
Papua New Guinea
29 Jul 1917 · 279 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.