Reviewed by USGSIndonesia40y ago
M6.5 earthquake 120 km WSW of Waingapu, Indonesia
Friday, December 19, 1986, 03:41:55 UTC · 9.917°S, 119.201°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 120 km WSW of Waingapu, Indonesia on Friday, December 19, 1986, 03:41:55 UTC, at a depth of 24.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.3 on August 19, 1977.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
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
162 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: shallow
25 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 353 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.31977 Sumba, Indonesia EarthquakeAugust 19, 1977 · 164 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 91 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 165 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 200 km N of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 210 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.4112 km N of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaJanuary 23, 1976 · 282 km N of this epicenter
- 6.449 km N of Komodo, IndonesiaJuly 24, 1983 · 200 km N of this epicenter
- 6.458 km SW of Komodo, IndonesiaOctober 31, 1983 · 100 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 189 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1977M8.3
Sunda Islands
19 Aug 1977 · 165 km away
189 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1982M5.6
Flores Islands: Ruteng
6 Aug 1982 · 229 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 188 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 214 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 175 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
- 1982M6.4
Sumbawa Island Region
11 Mar 1982 · 107 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.