Unusually powerful M7.1 Earthquake hit in the Java Sea 252km from Denpasar (Indonesia) on Tuesday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 28th, 2023. Last updated October 27th, 2023.

An unusually powerful M7.1 earthquake struck in the Java Sea 252 kilometer from Denpasar, Indonesia deep in the night of Tuesday August 29th, 2023. The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake.

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Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Java Sea, 107 kilometers (66 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 252 kilometer north-east of Denpasar in Bali. The center of this earthquake had a deep depth of 500 km.

Date and Time:	Aug 29, 2023 03:55 (Makassar Time) - Aug 28, 2023 19:55 Universal Time.
Location:	252 km NE of Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. Coordinates 6°47'20"S 116°31'16"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 7.1 Detected by 15 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.037 .
Depth:	500 km (311 mi) A deep depth.
Max. Intensity:	IV Light On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Potential tsunami risk The USGS has indicated there is a potential risk at tsunami's following this earthquake. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Potential tsunami risk

There is a potential tsunami risk in the aftermath of this earthquake, immediately evacuate to higher grounds away from coastal areas and monitor advice from local authorities. The US Geographic Survey organization has indicated a potential risk for tsunami's following this earthquake.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 4.2 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 4.2 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

Light shaking and likely no damage may have been experienced by an estimated 857,600 people. At IV, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 3.3 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 204 kilometer (127 mi) north-northeast of Mataram.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Surabaya is located 419 km to the west (intensity unknown, possibly low). Makassar is located 370 km to the east-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low). Denpasar is located 252 km to the southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is IV.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Shaking reported by 389 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 389 people have reported shaking in 38 places, all within Indonesia.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Kuta, Bali, Indonesia: 173 people.
• Ubud, Bali, Indonesia: 62 people.
• Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia: 48 people.
• Mataram, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia: 20 people.
• Praya, Nusa Tenggara Barat, Indonesia: 15 people.
• Klungkung, Bali, Indonesia: 14 people.
• Tabanan, Bali, Indonesia: 10 people.
• Karangasem, Bali, Indonesia: 9 people.
• Singaraja, Bali, Indonesia: 4 people.
• Banyuwangi, Jawa Timur, Indonesia: 3 people.

4 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 4 smaller aftershocks. At a distance of 81 km (50 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake, an aftershock struck 13 mins later. It measured a magnitude of 5.7

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 7.1 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Sources

Last updated 27/10/23 15:48 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000krjx
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20230828_0000197
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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