M6.7 earthquake 278 km SSW of Kawalu, Indonesia

Sunday, April 3, 2011, 20:06:40 UTC · 9.848°S, 107.693°E

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 278 km SSW of Kawalu, Indonesia on Sunday, April 3, 2011, 20:06:40 UTC, at a depth of 14.0 km (shallow). USGS received 73 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on September 2, 2009.

Magnitude: 6.7; Strong · mww
Depth: 14 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 73; Max intensity VI
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

169 kilotons of TNT

That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

16 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

14 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia	III · Weak	23	416 km
Bandung, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	IV · Light	5	325 km
Sleman, Yogyakarta, Indonesia	IV · Light	5	374 km
Bogor, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	III · Weak	4	375 km
Kuta, Bali, Indonesia	III · Weak	4	831 km
Tasikmalaya, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	V · Moderate	3	285 km
Yogyakarta, Yogyakarta, Indonesia	II · Weak	3	373 km
Wonosobo, Jawa Tengah, Indonesia	V · Moderate	2	367 km
Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia	III · Weak	2	837 km
Bantul, Yogyakarta, Indonesia	II · Weak	2	362 km
Ubud, Bali, Indonesia	II · Weak	2	844 km
Cimahi, Jawa Barat, Indonesia	VI · Strong	1	334 km

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 11 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on April 6, 2011. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 278 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,128 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2006M7.7
Java
17 Jul 2006 · 70 km away
802 deaths$55 million damagetsunami
1943M8.1
Java: Jogyakarta
23 Jul 1943 · 256 km away · intensity VIII
213 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2009M7.0
Java
2 Sep 2009 · 234 km away
81 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1979M6.1
Java
2 Nov 1979 · 251 km away
30 deaths$16 million damage
1937M7.2
Java: Jogyakarta: Klumpit,Prambanan
27 Sep 1937 · 279 km away · intensity IX
1 deathSevere damage ($5–24M)
2010M5.1
Java: Garut
10 Jan 2010 · 217 km away
1 death

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

Nearby trackers