QuakeScout
Magnitude6.4

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia43y ago

M6.4 earthquake 49 km N of Komodo, Indonesia

Sunday, July 24, 1983, 23:38:09 UTC · 8.141°S, 119.504°E

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck 49 km N of Komodo, Indonesia on Sunday, July 24, 1983, 23:38:09 UTC, at a depth of 48.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on March 11, 1982.

Magnitude
6.4
Strong · mw
Depth
48 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
VI
Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert
None
Not issued
Tsunami
No flag
USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

60 kilotons of TNT

That is about 4 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 126 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

116 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

48 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 100 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 164 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 197 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 155 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 116 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 57 km W of this epicenter
  5. 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 142 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 6.543 km N of Ende, IndonesiaMarch 16, 1961 · 245 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.4112 km N of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaJanuary 23, 1976 · 86 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 6.480 km S of Dompu, IndonesiaMarch 11, 1982 · 168 km SW 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 502 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1820M7.5

    Sulawesi: Makasar

    29 Dec 1820 · 139 km away · intensity X

    500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1961M6.5

    Flores: Endeh

    16 Mar 1961 · 275 km away · intensity VIII

    2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

  3. 1828

    Sulawesi

    29 Dec 1828 · 139 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1982M5.6

    Flores Islands: Ruteng

    6 Aug 1982 · 121 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1836M7.5

    Flores Sea

    28 Nov 1836 · 90 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1954M6.8

    Sumabawa: Bima,Raba

    2 Nov 1954 · 58 km away · intensity VIII

    Limited damage (under $1M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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