M6.0 earthquake near Biak, Papua

What happened

A magnitude 6 earthquake struck 57 km E of Biak, Indonesia on 17 Oct 1979, 23:29 UTC at a depth of 33 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Strong. Can cause damage in populated areas up to tens of kilometres away. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Biak, about 58 km away in Papua, Indonesia.