Reviewed by USGSIndonesia47y ago
M4.9 earthquake 66 km ENE of Biak, Indonesia
Friday, September 14, 1979, 09:18:12 UTC · 0.913°S, 136.622°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 66 km ENE of Biak, Indonesia on Friday, September 14, 1979, 09:18:12 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
- 4.9
- 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
64 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Caroline 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on September 26, 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 119 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 · 124 km S of this epicenter
- 7.955 km S of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 1979 · 107 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 278 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 262 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.65 km SW of Manokwari, IndonesiaApril 27, 1944 · 288 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 208 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 137 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 214 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 · 181 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1979M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
12 Sep 1979 · 107 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 · 108 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1921
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Sentani
10 Oct 1921 · 287 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1916M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
13 Jan 1916 · 242 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.