Reviewed by USGSDjibouti67y ago
M6.1 earthquake 26 km NNW of 'Ali Sabieh, Djibouti
Monday, January 4, 1960, 06:16:35 UTC · 11.374°N, 42.609°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 26 km NNW of 'Ali Sabieh, Djibouti on Monday, January 4, 1960, 06:16:35 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on September 27, 1938.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (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
19 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 40 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
38 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Somali and Arabian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 16 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.347 km ESE of Kemisē, EthiopiaSeptember 27, 1938 · 277 km W of this epicenter
- 6.035 km SW of Gewanē, EthiopiaOctober 23, 1938 · 287 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0northwestern SomaliaJanuary 22, 1929 · 124 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.039 km SSE of Holhol, DjiboutiOctober 28, 1945 · 68 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.054 km NNW of Baki, SomaliaOctober 31, 1926 · 132 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.034 km SSE of Asaita, EthiopiaMay 18, 1929 · 114 km W of this epicenter
- 6.063 km WNW of Baki, SomaliaOctober 24, 1930 · 136 km S of this epicenter
- 6.080 km N of Baki, SomaliaOctober 27, 1930 · 126 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 106 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861
Dubbi
7 May 1861 · 287 km away
106 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909
Djibouti; Yemen
19 Feb 1909 · 38 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.