Reviewed by USGSIndonesia17y ago
M5.5 earthquake 68 km S of Banjar, Indonesia
Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 08:02:21 UTC · 7.817°S, 107.393°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 68 km S of Banjar, Indonesia on Wednesday, September 2, 2009, 08:02:21 UTC, at a depth of 51.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on September 2, 2009.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 52 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- IV
- Light (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
207 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
52 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 75 km
USGS lists 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on September 2, 2009. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.979 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia17y ago · 20 km W of this epicenter
- 4.578 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia17y ago · 16 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.986 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia17y ago · 21 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.875 km SSW of Banjar, Indonesia17y ago · 13 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.363 km S of Banjar, Indonesia17y ago · 8 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 421 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 · 163 km S of this epicenter
- 7.535 km NNE of Rengasdengklok, IndonesiaAugust 8, 2007 · 218 km N of this epicenter
- 7.487 km SSW of Srandakan, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1943 · 284 km E of this epicenter
- 7.066 km SSW of Banjar, IndonesiaSeptember 2, 2009 · 11 km W of this epicenter
- 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 263 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 252 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.829 km SW of Labuan, IndonesiaOctober 25, 2000 · 240 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,715 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2006M7.7
Java
17 Jul 2006 · 163 km away
802 deaths$55 million damagetsunami
- 1924
Java: Wonosobo
2 Dec 1924 · 282 km away · intensity IX
727 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2009M7.0
Java
2 Sep 2009 · 11 km away
81 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1924
Java
12 Nov 1924 · 271 km away
60 deaths
- 1979M6.1
Java
2 Nov 1979 · 96 km away
30 deaths$16 million damage
- 1875
W Java: Kuningan
25 Oct 1875 · 143 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.