M7.7 earthquake near Manokwari, West Papua

What happened

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 140 km WNW of Manokwari, Indonesia on 3 Jan 2009, 19:43 UTC at a depth of 17 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Major. Can cause serious damage over large areas. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Manokwari, about 140 km away in West Papua, Indonesia.