1996 Biak earthquake


The 1996 Biak earthquake, or the 1996 Irian Jaya earthquake, occurred on February 17 at near Biak Island, Indonesia. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 8.2 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII. The run-up height of the generated tsunami reached. One-hundred and sixty-six people were reported dead, 423 were injured, and 5,090 were made homeless.
This earthquake was a thrust in a very oblique subduction zone. It ruptured at least along the New Guinea trench. The slip distribution is very nonuniform. The largest slip was ∼12 m near the hypocentral depth, and the mean slip over a 230 km by 100 km fault area was 4 m.