Reviewed by USGSIndonesia2d ago
M4.6 earthquake 119 km SW of Abepura, Indonesia
Thursday, September 24, 2026, 16:28:00 UTC · 3.243°S, 139.768°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 119 km SW of Abepura, Indonesia on Thursday, September 24, 2026, 16:28:00 UTC, at a depth of 68.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on September 24, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 68 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
8 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Woodlark and Maoke plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
68 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 927 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 158 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 192 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 5 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 71 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 61 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 224 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 221 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1214 km NW of Kiunga, Papua New GuineaJune 25, 1976 · 155 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,569 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
25 Jun 1976 · 155 km away
6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1981M6.7
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya Mts
19 Jan 1981 · 160 km away
305 deaths$5 million damage
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya
29 Oct 1976 · 143 km away · intensity VIII
133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1989M5.8
Kurima District, Baliem River
1 Aug 1989 · 163 km away
120 deaths$1 million damage
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 88 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2023M5.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayapura
9 Feb 2023 · 111 km away · intensity VIII
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.