Reviewed by USGSIndonesia30y ago
M4.1 earthquake 71 km ENE of Nabire, Indonesia
Monday, March 18, 1996, 02:34:01 UTC · 3.145°S, 136.104°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 71 km ENE of Nabire, Indonesia on Monday, March 18, 1996, 02:34:01 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- 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
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Maoke and Birds Head 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 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 405 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21914 Biak EarthquakeMay 26, 1914 · 160 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.11996 Biak, Indonesia EarthquakeFebruary 17, 1996 · 268 km N of this epicenter
- 7.955 km S of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 1979 · 163 km N of this epicenter
- 7.8230 km W of Abepura, IndonesiaJune 1, 1906 · 282 km E of this epicenter
- 7.736 km NNE of Nabire, IndonesiaJanuary 13, 1916 · 48 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6138 km SW of Insrom, IndonesiaMay 27, 1947 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3195 km E of Biak, IndonesiaApril 2, 1947 · 298 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2250 km ESE of Biak, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1950 · 257 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 539 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1864M7.8
Irian Jaya: Manokwari
23 May 1864 · 268 km away · intensity VII
250 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1996M8.2
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Biak, Supiori
17 Feb 1996 · 268 km away · intensity IX
164 deaths$4 million damagetsunami
- 1979M7.9
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
12 Sep 1979 · 163 km away
115 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1985M6.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Enarotali
15 Sep 1985 · 110 km away
10 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1957M7.3
New Guinea: Irian Jaya
22 Jun 1957 · 208 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M8.1
New Guinea: Irian Jaya: Japen
26 May 1914 · 173 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.