Reviewed by USGSIndonesia80y ago
M6.1 earthquake south of Java, Indonesia
Sunday, May 11, 1947, 18:40:02 UTC · 9.057°S, 105.812°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck south of Java, Indonesia on Sunday, May 11, 1947, 18:40:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on September 14, 1944.
- 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
22 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 46 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
0 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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 19 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 6.585 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaMay 12, 1923 · 247 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3136 km S of Kawalu, IndonesiaSeptember 14, 1944 · 250 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3157 km WSW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaJanuary 18, 1931 · 154 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3south of Java, IndonesiaMarch 21, 1940 · 245 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.2264 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaDecember 5, 1907 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.1139 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJune 19, 1930 · 299 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. The most severe:
- 1834
Java: Bogor, Cinajur
10 Oct 1834 · 293 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1900
Java: Sukabumi
14 Jan 1900 · 277 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1852M6.5
Java: Djakarta; Sumatra: Telukbetung
9 Jan 1852 · 286 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1903M8.1
S Of Java
27 Feb 1903 · 119 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.