QuakeScout
Magnitude7.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia112y ago

M7.7 earthquake 36 km NNE of Nabire, Indonesia

Thursday, January 13, 1916, 08:20:47 UTC · 3.076°S, 135.676°E

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 36 km NNE of Nabire, Indonesia on Thursday, January 13, 1916, 08:20:47 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.2 on May 26, 1914.

Magnitude
7.7
Major · mw
Depth
25 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

4.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 309 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9,772 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

35 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

25 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on January 13, 1916. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M4M5M6M71h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M7.7
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 6.482 km S of Biak, Indonesia112y ago · 133 km N of this epicenter

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:

  1. 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 186 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 15 km S of this epicenter
  3. 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 33 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 6.5110 km SSE of Biak, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1914 · 157 km NE 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 · 243 km away · intensity VII

    250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  2. 1914M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen

    26 May 1914 · 198 km away · intensity IX

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1916M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya

    13 Jan 1916 · 37 km away

  4. 1916M8.1

    New Guinea: Irian Jaya

    13 Jan 1916 · 21 km away

  5. 1915M6.0

    Nw. Irian Jaya

    6 Nov 1915 · 234 km away

    tsunami

  6. 1915

    Kaimana

    23 May 1915 · 229 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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