November 2, 1954 Earthquake: Bima,raba, Sumabawa, Indonesia
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Bima,raba, Sumabawa, Indonesia on November 2, 1954 at 08:24:54 UTC.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- November 2, 1954
- Time
- 08:24:54 UTC
- Place
- Bima,raba, Sumabawa, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 8.000° S, 119.000° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 100)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1954, November 02, 08h 24m 54s UTC. 8.0 S, 119.0 E. Magnitude 6.75. Intensity VII-VIII. Bima: Sumbawa - felt over South Sulawesi, Lombok and Flores. Ground-slumps and rock-slides were caused by the earthquake in northeast Sumbawa. Bima and Raba suffered most damage. Nearly all brick/stone houses were cracked and some collapsed completely. Two buildings made of reinforced concrete did not sustain any damage. The pier of Bima harbour was bent outward. A small Customs-house seemed to be displaced over a distance of about 0.5 m. No lives were lost. (reference #1188)
1954, November 2, 08:24:12 UTC, 8.6 S, 118.6 E, magnitude 6.6 MS. Caused damage at Bima on the island of Sumbawa and was felt from Lombok to Flores and in southern
Celebes; a detailed study has been published: brickbuilt
houses suffered most damage, whilst timber huts (Kampong) stood up very well as did also the few concrete buildings; there were no victims but enormous blocks of tufa, neogenic marls and coral reefs broke up and blocked the road between Werea and Bima (Ritsema and Soetadi, 1955).
(reference #1040)
1954, November 2, 08:24:08 UTC, 7.5 S, 119 E, magnitude 6.5-6.75 MS. Sumbawa Island region. Extensive damage at Bima. (reference #45)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 29, 1820, Makasar, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- March 25, 2003, Reo, Flores, Indonesia
- November 25, 2007, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- November 8, 2009, Bima, Sumabawa, Indonesia
- December 1, 2006, Bima, Sumabawa, Indonesia
- March 5, 1836, Flores Sea, Indonesia
- November 28, 1836, Flores Sea, Indonesia
- November 28, 1837, Bima, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- January 23, 2003, Dompu, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- December 29, 1828, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- July 31, 2016, West Nusa Tenggara, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia
- March 11, 1982, Sumbawa Island Region, Indonesia
- December 5, 2003, Flores, Ruteng, Indonesia
- August 6, 1982, Ruteng, Flores Islands, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1954The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1954Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4059.