1981 Irian Jaya earthquake

Earthquake in Indonesia 1981 Irian Jaya earthquake 1981-01-19 15:11:01 usp0001bta 632891 January 20, 1981 00:11:01 WIT Indonesia Highland Papua#Indonesia 6.7 w y 7 33.0 km on -4.58 139.23 inline,title Irian Jaya (now Highland Papua), Indonesia 305 dead, 1,000+ missing 1981 Irian Jaya earthquake.jpg USGS United States Geological Survey ShakeMap Shortly after midnight local time on January 20 (January 19, UTC), 1981, eastern Indonesia was struck by an earthquake known as the 1981 Irian Jaya earthquake. Registering a moment magnitude of 6.7, it killed more than 300 people, damaging structures and buildings across the Irian Jaya province. Indonesia is highly active in terms of seismicity and volcanic eruptions, with a subduction zone and many faults. It is neighbored by several tectonic plates. Such earthquakes pose a significant threat to life in the area through earthquakes and also tsunamis. Geology Indonesia, one of the most seismically active places in the world, hosts hundreds of islands, many with volcanoes. It is an island arc, composed by a subduction zone (in the Sunda Trench) and islands. Unlike most subduction zones, the Sunda Trench is parallel to the chain of islands to which it corresponds, creating strike-slip faulting. Indonesia itself is surrounded by multiple tectonic plates – namely the Pacific, the Southeast Asia lithospheric, and the Indo-Australian plates – causing it to be a so-called hotspot for both seismic and volcanic activity.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/world/indonesia/seismotectonics.php Seismotectonics of the Indonesian Region United States Geological Survey 26 October 2009 18 January 2010 The epicenter was in Papua Province, in the Irian Jaya Province. The orientation and type of faulting is uncertain, due to a poorly constrained focal mechanism but is thought to have been a reverse fault.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/significant/sig_1981.php Significant Earthquakes of the World – 1981 United States Geological Survey 5 January 2010 17 January 2010 dead https://web.archive.org/web/20121011191203/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqarchives/significant/sig_1981.php 11 October 2012 Damage and casualties Spawning enormous landslides, the earthquake left at least 305 people dead and more than 1,000 missing. Entire villages were covered by debris.https://earthquake.usgs.gov/learn/today/index.php?month=1&day=19&submit=View+Date Today in Earthquake History – January 19 United States Geological Survey 27 October 2009 16 January 2010 It was described as "strong" by The New York Times.https://www.nytimes.com/1981/01/20/world/strong-quake-strikes-indonesia.html Strong Quake Strikes Indonesia The New York Times 20 January 1981 17 January 2010 The earthquake caused huge landslides, which cascaded into the villages below the mountains, destroying more than 150 homes. The debris from these flows blocked transportation by road, "cutting off more than 2,000 area residents".https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=L0kVAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TuIDAAAAIBAJ&pg=1976,5937171&dq= Earthquake rocks Indonesia Alton F. "Tony" Baker III The Register-Guard 21 January 1981 16 January 2010 Relief efforts took several days.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nW4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wysEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2929,1752581&dq= Indonesia quake kills 67 Elizabeth Brenner Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 24 January 1981 17 January 2010 https://archive.today/20120713105055/http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nW4aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=wysEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2929,1752581&dq= 2012-07-13 dead Future threats Indonesia is known for deadly earthquakes, primarily the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, which killed more than 227,000 people. Earthquakes along the subduction zone at Sunda and on the Great Sumatran fault pose a serious threat to life, especially in the form of tsunamis. A 2005 study found that stress on at least these two zones was at a heightened level,McCloskey, John Nalbant, Suleyman S. Steacy, Sandy amp Indonesian earthquake: Earthquake risk from co-seismic stress Nature 434 7031 291 March 2005 2005Natur.434..291M 10.1038/434291a 15772639 free and both have been active. The Sunda Trench zone has since produced the 2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami, while the Great Sumatran fault has not produced an earthquake since the 2004 event. See also 1976 Papua earthquake 1989 West Papua earthquake List of earthquakes in 1981 List of earthquakes in Indonesia References External links 632891 Irian Jaya Earthquake, 1981 1981 Irian Jaya Earthquake, 1981 Irian Jaya Earthquake, 1981 Irian Jaya earthquake Category:Landslides in Indonesia Irian Jaya earthquake Irian Jaya earthquake Category:History of Highland Papua