Reviewed by USGSIndonesia49y ago
M5.3 earthquake south of Sumbawa, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 9, 1978, 19:38:41 UTC · 11.678°S, 117.323°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck south of Sumbawa, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 9, 1978, 19:38:41 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on May 4, 1978.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- 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
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
38 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 208 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 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7297 km S of Praya, IndonesiaApril 10, 1978 · 78 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.4248 km S of Taliwang, IndonesiaMay 28, 1972 · 87 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3297 km SW of Waingapu, IndonesiaOctober 31, 1977 · 102 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3161 km S of Sumbawa Besar, IndonesiaOctober 7, 1977 · 192 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaDecember 21, 1938 · 266 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3151 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaJanuary 2, 1977 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3139 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaApril 13, 1951 · 267 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 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 · 128 km away
189 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.