Reviewed by USGSIndonesia112y ago
M6.7 earthquake 69 km SSE of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Saturday, April 15, 1916, 12:31:43 UTC · 4.338°S, 102.597°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 69 km SSE of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Saturday, April 15, 1916, 12:31:43 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on June 25, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- 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
175 kilotons of TNT
That is about 12 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 367 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
222 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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:
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 239 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 112 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3159 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaJuly 14, 1914 · 108 km S of this epicenter
- 6.067 km SSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaOctober 28, 1906 · 68 km W of this epicenter
- 5.8100 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaApril 16, 1915 · 280 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 20 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 98 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 99 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1818M7.0
Sumatra: Bengkulu
18 Mar 1818 · 127 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1896M6.8
Sw. Sumatra, Java
10 Oct 1896 · 94 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.