Reviewed by USGSIndonesia49y ago
M5.0 earthquake 140 km SSW of Sumbawa Besar, Indonesia
Monday, October 17, 1977, 09:53:35 UTC · 9.729°S, 117.107°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 140 km SSW of Sumbawa Besar, Indonesia on Monday, October 17, 1977, 09:53:35 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on October 16, 1977.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
177 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 lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on October 25, 1977. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 190 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 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 285 km N of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 180 km E of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 273 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.57 km WNW of Ubud, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.56 km WNW of Seririt, IndonesiaJuly 14, 1976 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4248 km S of Taliwang, IndonesiaMay 28, 1972 · 141 km S of this epicenter
- 6.377 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 15, 1923 · 276 km E of this epicenter
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 798 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M6.5
Bali
14 Jul 1976 · 299 km away
573 deaths$195 million damage
- 1977M8.3
Sunda Islands
19 Aug 1977 · 212 km away
189 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1857M7.0
Timor Island:: Dilhi, Gera
13 May 1857 · 261 km away
36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 236 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 283 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1977M5.2
Bali: Kayubihi,Banjar Antugan Jehem
26 Jan 1977 · 269 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.