Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago
M4.6 earthquake south of Java, Indonesia
Wednesday, August 16, 2006, 07:19:17 UTC · 10.107°S, 108.020°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck south of Java, Indonesia on Wednesday, August 16, 2006, 07:19:17 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on August 13, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
1 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on August 26, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.5271 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia20y ago · 32 km N of this epicenter
- 4.0271 km SSW of Kroya, Indonesia20y ago · 46 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.7277 km SSW of Sidareja, Indonesia20y ago · 26 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.4294 km SSW of Sidareja, Indonesia20y ago · 16 km E of this epicenter
- 4.4283 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia20y ago · 41 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 233 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7226 km SSW of Singaparna, IndonesiaJuly 17, 2006 · 113 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6233 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1921 · 288 km E of this epicenter
- 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 259 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9south of Java, IndonesiaJuly 24, 1979 · 121 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5260 km SSW of Kroya, IndonesiaSeptember 7, 1974 · 49 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3136 km S of Kawalu, IndonesiaSeptember 14, 1944 · 167 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3south of Java, IndonesiaMarch 21, 1940 · 36 km W of this epicenter
- 6.2166 km SSW of Bambanglipuro, IndonesiaAugust 31, 1918 · 218 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,046 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2006M7.7
Java
17 Jul 2006 · 113 km away
802 deaths$55 million damagetsunami
- 1943M8.1
Java: Jogyakarta
23 Jul 1943 · 227 km away · intensity VIII
213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.1
Java
2 Nov 1979 · 274 km away
30 deaths$16 million damage
- 1937M7.2
Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan
27 Sep 1937 · 252 km away · intensity IX
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1980M5.8
Java: Tasikmalaja
16 Apr 1980 · 241 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1923
Java: Maos
15 May 1923 · 297 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.