QuakeScout
Magnitude4.2

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia43y ago

M4.2 earthquake 88 km SSW of Komodo, Indonesia

Wednesday, December 14, 1983, 23:47:59 UTC · 9.354°S, 119.267°E

A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 88 km SSW of Komodo, Indonesia on Wednesday, December 14, 1983, 23:47:59 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.2
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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

30 tons of TNT

That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

152 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

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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 327 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.31977 Sumba, Indonesia EarthquakeAugust 19, 1977 · 222 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 272 km NW of this epicenter
  3. 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 65 km W of this epicenter
  4. 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 122 km NE of this epicenter
  5. 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 140 km N of this epicenter
  6. 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 170 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 6.543 km N of Ende, IndonesiaMarch 16, 1961 · 286 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.4112 km N of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaJanuary 23, 1976 · 220 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 689 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1820M7.5

    Sulawesi: Makasar

    29 Dec 1820 · 263 km away · intensity X

    500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1977M8.3

    Sunda Islands

    19 Aug 1977 · 224 km away

    189 deaths$1 million damagetsunami

  3. 1828

    Sulawesi

    29 Dec 1828 · 263 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1982M5.6

    Flores Islands: Ruteng

    6 Aug 1982 · 180 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1836M7.5

    Flores Sea

    28 Nov 1836 · 133 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  6. 1954M6.8

    Sumabawa: Bima,Raba

    2 Nov 1954 · 153 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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