Deep beneath
the Java Sea.
USGS revised its estimate from magnitude 6.6 to 6.5. Explore one deep earthquake through the records that changed our picture of it.
A visual explanation by Noteworthy News
From USGS data and preserved agency products
Dates are agency product issue times. The earliest retained version is not necessarily the first public alert.
Read the recorded events as a list (4)
A bounded regional selection, not a complete list of every earthquake or a classification of aftershocks.
One event, revised estimates.
The USGS record places this earthquake in the Java Sea at Sep 11, 2026, 09:23:55 PM UTC. Its later saved solution reports magnitude 6.5 and a depth of 372 kilometres.
An earlier preserved origin solution reports magnitude 6.6. The later 6.5 estimate belongs to the same event. A revised estimate changes the scientific account; it does not mean the earthquake itself happened again.
Inspect the agency’s event and product history| Agency estimate | Earlier saved | Later saved |
|---|---|---|
| Magnitude | 6.6 | 6.5 |
| Depth, km | 358.597 | 372 |
| Stations used for location | 88 | 116 |
Both origins carry a USGS reviewed status and a preliminary evaluation status. These are successive estimates of one earthquake.
The number in a headline is a measurement. Its source history is part of the story.
One magnitude, different intensities.
Magnitude describes the size of an earthquake at its source. Intensity describes shaking at a location, so it can differ from place to place. The map’s MMI values describe the agency’s estimated shaking, not a second magnitude.
USGS: magnitude and intensityThis feature uses the supplied ShakeMap grid. The displayed low-resolution grid spans MMI 2.8–2.9. This is the range in this supplied grid, not a claim about the maximum shaking everywhere. Its cells are estimates, not individual sensor readings or reports of damage. Areas outside that grid are outside the display’s coverage; they are not evidence of no shaking.
Inspect the supplied ShakeMap productContext without a causal claim.
The regional view uses a fixed geographic area, date window and minimum magnitude. Moving the slider reveals records in their occurrence order. It does not assign them to an aftershock sequence or show when the records first became available.
Catalogues are revised. The values here come from the saved retrieval described in the methodology, even when you move back to an earlier event time.
Inspect the exact catalogue selectionWhat the source said then. What it says later.
Move between the actual retained USGS products. These are dated agency versions, not a reconstruction of the newsroom’s knowledge. Each update keeps its original issue time.
ShakeMap version 4
This later automatic model uses the revised M6.5 origin. The official low-resolution intensity grid contains values from 2.8 to 2.9. Version 3 incorporated the origin update; version 4 is recorded as a scheduled repeat, not new confirmed damage.
Source issued
USGS ShakeMap version 4: intensity gridEarlier saved origin
This saved USGS origin lists M6.6 at 358.597 km depth. It is the earliest origin preserved in this retrieved product history, not a claim about the very first public alert.
Open this source versionShakeMap version 1
The first numbered saved ShakeMap used the M6.6 origin and an automatic surface-shaking model. Its preserved MMI 3 contour can be inspected separately from the later grid.
Open this source versionRevised saved origin
USGS revised the magnitude to M6.5 and the depth to 372 km. The depth method changed from location to modeling of broad-band P waveforms. Both saved origins carry reviewed status and preliminary evaluation status.
Open this source versionShakeMap version 4
This later automatic model uses the revised M6.5 origin. The official low-resolution intensity grid contains values from 2.8 to 2.9. Version 3 incorporated the origin update; version 4 is recorded as a scheduled repeat, not new confirmed damage.
Open this source version
Follow the evidence all the way back.
The map uses a local equirectangular projection with geographic coordinates. Shading comes from a sampled agency grid; marker size identifies events and is not an energy or damage scale. Geographic labels are contextual. This feature makes no casualty or forecasting calculation.
Catalogue selection: Regional catalogue context. These four events are selected by place, date and magnitude; this does not establish an aftershock relationship. Occurrence time is separate from when a record became known. Window: Sep 1, 2026, 12:00:00 AM UTC to Sep 13, 2026, 12:00:00 AM UTC. Minimum magnitude 3; bounds 102–112°E and 10–2°S. Saved records are not automatically refreshed.
- primary-dataUSGS earthquake record and saved product history
Current preferred origin and preserved superseded USGS products. Saved estimates are not guaranteed to include the first public alert.
Source issued / Retrieved
- primary-dataUSGS earlier saved origin
Version-specific QuakeML origin and magnitude, preserved separately from the current catalogue.
Source issued / Retrieved
- primary-dataUSGS current saved origin
Version-specific QuakeML origin and magnitude, preserved separately from the current catalogue.
Source issued / Retrieved
- model-estimateUSGS ShakeMap version 4: intensity grid
Automatic ShakeMap, based on a reviewed origin. Grid cells estimate surface shaking; they are not a damage survey.
Source issued / Retrieved
- model-estimateUSGS ShakeMap version 1: saved contours
The first numbered ShakeMap product in this retrieved history; not a reconstruction from current data.
Source issued / Retrieved
- primary-dataUSGS ShakeMap processing record
Processing history marks version 3 as an origin update and version 4 as a scheduled repeat.
Source issued / Retrieved
- primary-dataUSGS bounded regional earthquake catalogue
All four returned M3+ catalogue events within 102–112°E and 10–2°S, from September 1 through September 13, 2026, 00:00 UTC. Nearby events are not automatically aftershocks.
Source issued / Retrieved
- geographyNatural Earth 1:50m land
Public-domain land geometry clipped to this map; not a fault map or a hazard boundary.
Retrieved
- explanationUSGS: why earthquake depth matters
Surface shaking depends partly on distance from the earthquake source. This general explanation does not prove the impact of this event.
Retrieved
- explanationUSGS: magnitude and intensity explained
Magnitude describes the earthquake source; intensity describes shaking at a particular location.
Retrieved
- explanationUSGS: magnitude and shaking intensity
Magnitude describes earthquake size; intensity varies by location.
Retrieved
Download the source dataset ↓ / Download provenance and source hashes ↓
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