Reviewed by USGSIndonesia54y ago
M5.2 earthquake 171 km SW of Nabire, Indonesia
Saturday, May 12, 1973, 19:36:45 UTC · 4.280°S, 134.254°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 171 km SW of Nabire, Indonesia on Saturday, May 12, 1973, 19:36:45 UTC, at a depth of 43.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on April 17, 1973.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 43 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
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
29 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Australian and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
43 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 60 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7147 km E of Tual, IndonesiaNovember 6, 1943 · 142 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 281 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1152 km NNE of Tual, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1936 · 104 km W of this epicenter
- 7.196 km SSW of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 27, 1942 · 95 km E of this epicenter
- 7.027 km NE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 200 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.935 km SSE of Nabire, IndonesiaJune 6, 1954 · 171 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.86 km ENE of Nabire, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1915 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1938
New Guinea: Fakfak
13 Feb 1938 · 259 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 240 km away
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 198 km away
- 1943M7.6
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Aru Islands
6 Nov 1943 · 193 km away
- 1915
Kaimana
23 May 1915 · 94 km away
tsunami
- 1937
New Guinea: Fakfak
6 Nov 1937 · 259 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.