November 17, 1985 Earthquake: Manokwari, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Manokwari, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia on November 17, 1985 at 09:40:21 UTC, 10 km below the surface.
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 17, 1985
- Time
- 09:40:21 UTC
- Place
- Manokwari, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 7.1 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 1.639° S, 134.911° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 23, 1864, Manokwari, Irian Jaya, Indonesia
- September 12, 1979, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- June 16, 2010, Japen, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- October 10, 2002, Manokwari, Oransbari, Ransiki, New Guinea, Indonesia
- September 20, 2002, Ransiki, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- January 7, 2008, Manokwari,, New Guinea, Indonesia
- November 6, 1915, NW. Irian Jaya, Indonesia
- January 13, 1916, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
- January 13, 1916, Irian Jaya, New Guinea, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1985The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1985Recent 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 5085.