M8.1 earthquake 1996 Biak, Indonesia Earthquake

Saturday, February 17, 1996, 05:59:30 UTC · 0.891°S, 136.952°E

A magnitude 8.1 earthquake struck 1996 Biak, Indonesia Earthquake on Saturday, February 17, 1996, 05:59:30 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.2 on May 26, 1914.

Magnitude: 8.1; Great · mww
Depth: 33 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 400 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

21 megatons of TNT

That is about 1,367 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 43,152 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

48 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Caroline plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

33 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 400 km

USGS lists 404 M2.5+ earthquakes within 400 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.5 on February 17, 1996. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 266 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 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 529 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 217 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1996M8.2
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Biak, Supiori
17 Feb 1996 · 0 km away · intensity IX
164 deaths$4 million damagetsunami
1979M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
12 Sep 1979 · 134 km away
115 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 68 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 104 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 258 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers