Java’s Forgotten Shallow Earthquakes

A devastating earthquake originating from an inland source occurred near the Central Java city of Wonosobo in 1924. This quake caused mudslides and killed almost 900 people.

Data indicate that shallow earthquakes more powerful than the recent Cianjur quake could occur in more densely populated cities on the island of Java.

The recent 5.6-magnitude shallow earthquake that struck Cianjur, West Java, points to the dangers of shallow crustal earthquakes on the densely populated island of Java. Records from the colonial era show that shallow earthquakes devastated a number of cities on Java, including Cianjur in 1879, Cirebon in 1847 and Wonosobo in 1924.