Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago
M4.8 earthquake 236 km SSW of Singaparna, Indonesia
Monday, September 18, 2006, 12:01:43 UTC · 9.389°S, 107.449°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 236 km SSW of Singaparna, Indonesia on Monday, September 18, 2006, 12:01:43 UTC, at a depth of 30.3 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on September 4, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 30 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
54 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
30 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 M4.9 on October 6, 2006. 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 283 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 · 12 km N of this epicenter
- 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 276 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9south of Java, IndonesiaJuly 24, 1979 · 198 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5260 km SSW of Kroya, IndonesiaSeptember 7, 1974 · 110 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.519 km W of Ciranjang-hilir, IndonesiaOctober 9, 1985 · 292 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3136 km S of Kawalu, IndonesiaSeptember 14, 1944 · 109 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3157 km WSW of Pelabuhanratu, IndonesiaJanuary 18, 1931 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,053 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2006M7.7
Java
17 Jul 2006 · 12 km away
802 deaths$55 million damagetsunami
- 1943M8.1
Java: Jogyakarta
23 Jul 1943 · 280 km away · intensity VIII
213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1979M6.1
Java
2 Nov 1979 · 212 km away
30 deaths$16 million damage
- 1875
W Java: Kuningan
25 Oct 1875 · 292 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2005M4.8
Java: Garut
2 Feb 2005 · 265 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1990M4.8
Java: W, Kuningan, Majalenga
6 Jul 1990 · 286 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.