M7.4 earthquake 193 km W of Sorong, Indonesia

Sunday, October 7, 1923, 03:29:38 UTC · 1.211°S, 129.554°E

A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck 193 km W of Sorong, Indonesia on Sunday, October 7, 1923, 03:29:38 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: 7.4; Major · mw
Depth: 15 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very 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

2.0 megatons of TNT

That is about 131 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4,121 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

137 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 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:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,464 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1899M7.8
Banda Sea
29 Sep 1899 · 231 km away
2,460 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1754M6.5
Ambon Island
18 Aug 1754 · 280 km away
4 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1885M7.3
Buru I, Ambon I, Haruku I
30 Apr 1885 · 270 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1904
South Maluku
4 Jul 1904 · 282 km away · intensity V
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1923M7.5
Djailolo Gilolo
7 Oct 1923 · 108 km away
1892M7.0
Seram Island
18 Nov 1892 · 282 km away
tsunami

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

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