Reviewed by USGSIndonesia112y ago
M6.4 earthquake 82 km S of Biak, Indonesia
Thursday, January 13, 1916, 10:51:11 UTC · 1.916°S, 135.968°E
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 82 km S of Biak, Indonesia on Thursday, January 13, 1916, 10:51:11 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on January 13, 1916.
- Magnitude
- 6.4
- 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
62 kilotons of TNT
That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 130 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 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 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 6 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 · 109 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 295 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 133 km S of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 147 km S of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 165 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5110 km SSE of Biak, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1914 · 73 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 250 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 148 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 109 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 121 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 131 km away
- 1915M6.0
Nw. Irian Jaya
6 Nov 1915 · 102 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.