Earthquakes near Manokwari through history
From 1900 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 26 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 100 km of Manokwari, or 200 km for magnitude 7 and above. 7 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest on either list was an estimated magnitude 7.8 on May 23, 1864 (Irian Jaya: Manokwari).
The last 30 days · as of
USGS recorded no earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or more within 100 km of Manokwari in the last 30 days.
What the record holds
It was also the deadliest: NOAA records 250 deaths for it. NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes has 7 here, back to 1864. NOAA records deaths in 3 of the events here, 263 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 7.7 on January 3, 2009 (140 km WNW of Manokwari, Indonesia). NOAA’s record here begins on May 23, 1864 with an earthquake (Irian Jaya: Manokwari). It grows thinner going back: 6 of the 7 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here are from 1927 on. NOAA lists one tsunami that began within 100 km of Manokwari, and 2 from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 4 m, on February 17, 1996. The deadliest here came on May 23, 1864 from a magnitude 7.8 earthquake (Nw. Irian Jaya): NOAA’s runup records count 250 deaths within 100 km of Manokwari.
The events
- January 3, 2009Earthquake · M 7.7140 km WNW of Manokwari, Indonesia · 5 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- January 3, 2009Earthquake · M 7.486 km WNW of Manokwari, IndonesiaUSGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- February 17, 1996Tsunami · 4 m hereIrian JayaNOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- May 23, 1864Earthquake · M 7.8 (est.)Irian Jaya: Manokwari · 250 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI
- May 23, 1864Tsunami · 3 m hereNw. Irian Jaya · 250 deaths here (NOAA)NOAA NCEI
Good to know
- An event counts for Manokwari when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
- USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
- NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
- Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
- A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
- Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history