QuakeScout
Magnitude6.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia41y ago

M6.5 earthquake 19 km W of Ciranjang-hilir, Indonesia

Wednesday, October 9, 1985, 01:15:04 UTC · 6.791°S, 107.082°E

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 19 km W of Ciranjang-hilir, Indonesia on Wednesday, October 9, 1985, 01:15:04 UTC, at a depth of 153.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on December 15, 1963.

Magnitude
6.5
Strong · mw
Depth
154 km
Intermediate
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
V
Moderate (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

85 kilotons of TNT

That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 178 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

287 km

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

Depth: intermediate

154 km

Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.

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

  1. 7.0164 km N of Pamanukan, IndonesiaDecember 15, 1963 · 244 km NE of this epicenter
  2. 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 176 km W of this epicenter
  3. 6.9183 km N of Rengasdengklok, IndonesiaApril 16, 1957 · 254 km N of this epicenter
  4. 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 182 km W of this epicenter
  5. 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 206 km W of this epicenter
  6. 6.544 km W of Labuan, IndonesiaDecember 16, 1963 · 188 km W of this epicenter
  7. 6.585 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaMay 12, 1923 · 201 km W of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 39 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1979M6.1

    Java

    2 Nov 1979 · 161 km away

    30 deaths$16 million damage

  2. 1875

    W Java: Kuningan

    25 Oct 1875 · 135 km away · intensity VIII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1971M5.2

    Java: Buaran,Bantar Kawsun,Jipang

    16 Jun 1971 · 227 km away

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1975M5.6

    Java

    9 Feb 1975 · 43 km away · intensity VIII

    1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 1834

    Java: Bogor, Cinajur

    10 Oct 1834 · 14 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1926

    Java: Prupuk,Margarsari,Dubuktengah

    13 Dec 1926 · 214 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

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

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