Reviewed by USGSIndonesia30y ago
M4.0 earthquake 62 km WNW of Abepura, Indonesia
Saturday, March 16, 1996, 23:45:22 UTC · 2.446°S, 140.091°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 62 km WNW of Abepura, Indonesia on Saturday, March 16, 1996, 23:45:22 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- 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
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
69 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Woodlark and Maoke 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 M3.8 on March 27, 1996. 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 499 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 170 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8New Guinea, Papua New GuineaSeptember 20, 1935 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km SW of Abepura, IndonesiaJanuary 10, 1971 · 94 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.6158 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaOctober 26, 1926 · 106 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5143 km WSW of Abepura, IndonesiaMay 28, 1968 · 93 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.593 km SW of Aitape, Papua New GuineaJuly 29, 1917 · 230 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 292 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 219 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,563 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
25 Jun 1976 · 240 km away
6,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1981M6.7
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya Mts
19 Jan 1981 · 255 km away
305 deaths$5 million damage
- 1976M7.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Jayawijaya
29 Oct 1976 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
133 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1989M5.8
Kurima District, Baliem River
1 Aug 1989 · 258 km away
120 deaths$1 million damage
- 1900M6.9
Nw. Irian Jaya
7 Oct 1900 · 173 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1971M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya:Djajapura,Sentani
10 Jan 1971 · 85 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.