Reviewed by USGSIndonesia47y ago
M4.8 earthquake 29 km ESE of Biak, Indonesia
Thursday, September 13, 1979, 12:35:26 UTC · 1.273°S, 136.333°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 29 km ESE of Biak, Indonesia on Thursday, September 13, 1979, 12:35:26 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 13, 1979.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
112 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Caroline 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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on September 27, 1979. 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 124 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 104 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.955 km S of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 1979 · 56 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 282 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 213 km S of this epicenter
- 7.65 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaApril 27, 1944 · 260 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 161 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 168 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 221 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 365 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 151 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
12 Sep 1979 · 56 km away
115 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 78 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 92 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 297 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 196 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.