QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago

M4.5 earthquake 271 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia

Friday, September 8, 2006, 12:59:13 UTC · 9.827°S, 107.957°E

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 271 km S of Kawalu, Indonesia on Friday, September 8, 2006, 12:59:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 4, 2006.

Magnitude
4.5
Light · mb
Depth
34 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

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

27 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

34 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 M4.4 on September 18, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.5
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.4275 km SSW of Sidareja, Indonesia20y ago · 20 km E of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 260 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.7226 km SSW of Singaparna, IndonesiaJuly 17, 2006 · 84 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.6233 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 11, 1921 · 296 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 247 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 6.9south of Java, IndonesiaJuly 24, 1979 · 149 km S of this epicenter
  5. 6.992 km S of Pundong, IndonesiaSeptember 27, 1937 · 295 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 6.5260 km SSW of Kroya, IndonesiaSeptember 7, 1974 · 44 km E of this epicenter
  7. 6.3136 km S of Kawalu, IndonesiaSeptember 14, 1944 · 136 km N of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 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:

  1. 2006M7.7

    Java

    17 Jul 2006 · 84 km away

    802 deaths$55 million damagetsunami

  2. 1943M8.1

    Java: Jogyakarta

    23 Jul 1943 · 227 km away · intensity VIII

    213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1979M6.1

    Java

    2 Nov 1979 · 244 km away

    30 deaths$16 million damage

  4. 1937M7.2

    Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan

    27 Sep 1937 · 250 km away · intensity IX

    1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1980M5.8

    Java: Tasikmalaja

    16 Apr 1980 · 215 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1863

    Java: Banyumas

    31 Jul 1863 · 298 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages