Reviewed by USGSIndonesia3d ago
M4.6 earthquake 223 km WNW of Abepura, Indonesia
Thursday, September 24, 2026, 00:26:38 UTC · 1.813°S, 138.781°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 223 km WNW of Abepura, Indonesia on Thursday, September 24, 2026, 00:26:38 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on September 19, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
16 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 834 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 205 km W of this epicenter
- 8.11996 Biak, Indonesia EarthquakeFebruary 17, 1996 · 228 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 80 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 188 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 130 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 134 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 131 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 76 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 191 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1996M8.2
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Biak, Supiori
17 Feb 1996 · 228 km away · intensity IX
164 deaths$4 million damagetsunami
- 2010M7.0
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
16 Jun 2010 · 252 km away · intensity VI
17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 278 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2023M5.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayapura
9 Feb 2023 · 217 km away · intensity VIII
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2015M7.0
Papua
27 Jul 2015 · 95 km away · intensity VII
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 201 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.