M6.1 earthquake 59 km W of Kabanjahe, Indonesia

Thursday, July 27, 1916, 11:52:28 UTC · 3.175°N, 97.963°E

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 59 km W of Kabanjahe, Indonesia on Thursday, July 27, 1916, 11:52:28 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on April 3, 1915.

Magnitude: 6.1; Strong · mw
Depth: 15 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

21 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 43 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

142 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma 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 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 5 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 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,188 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 276 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 186 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1892
Sumatra: Padangsidimpuan, Lake Toba
17 May 1892 · 186 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
26 Apr 1861 · 247 km away
tsunami
1852M6.8
Sumatra: Sibolga
11 Nov 1852 · 186 km away
tsunami
1861M6.8
Sw. Sumatra
17 Jun 1861 · 247 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers