Reviewed by USGSIndonesia27y ago
M6.5 earthquake 59 km SSW of Labuan, Indonesia
Tuesday, December 21, 1999, 14:14:57 UTC · 6.845°S, 105.555°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 59 km SSW of Labuan, Indonesia on Tuesday, December 21, 1999, 14:14:57 UTC, at a depth of 56.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on February 15, 1994.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mwb
- Depth
- 56 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured 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
182 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
56 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on January 8, 2000. 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 373 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 211 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 60 km N of this epicenter
- 6.966 km WSW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaFebruary 15, 1994 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 27 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.679 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaAugust 13, 1913 · 39 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5187 km S of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 6, 1992 · 293 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.519 km W of Ciranjang-hilir, IndonesiaOctober 9, 1985 · 169 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 213 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1994M6.9
Southern Sumatera, Liwa, Lampung
15 Feb 1994 · 251 km away
207 deaths$170 million damage
- 1999M6.5
Pandeglang, W Jawa, Se Sumatera
21 Dec 1999 · 0 km away
5 deaths$4 million damage
- 1975M5.6
Java
9 Feb 1975 · 127 km away · intensity VIII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1990M4.8
Java: W, Kuningan, Majalenga
6 Jul 1990 · 283 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1834
Java: Bogor, Cinajur
10 Oct 1834 · 160 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 235 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.