Reviewed by USGSIndonesia49y ago
M5.2 earthquake 128 km W of Waingapu, Indonesia
Thursday, September 15, 1977, 02:46:09 UTC · 9.771°S, 119.095°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 128 km W of Waingapu, Indonesia on Thursday, September 15, 1977, 02:46:09 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on September 13, 1977.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
178 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 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 161 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.31977 Sumba, Indonesia EarthquakeAugust 19, 1977 · 172 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 72 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 163 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 183 km N of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4112 km N of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaJanuary 23, 1976 · 270 km N of this epicenter
- 6.4248 km S of Taliwang, IndonesiaMay 28, 1972 · 271 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.386 km N of Ruteng, IndonesiaApril 23, 1949 · 269 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 189 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M8.3
Sunda Islands
19 Aug 1977 · 174 km away
189 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 169 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 197 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 156 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1836
Flores Sea
5 Mar 1836 · 169 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.