Reviewed by USGSIndonesia120y ago
M7.3 earthquake 108 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 5, 1908, 06:17:47 UTC · 0.513°N, 125.487°E
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck 108 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 5, 1908, 06:17:47 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on June 25, 1907.
- Magnitude
- 7.3
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1.2 megatons of TNT
That is about 78 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2,455 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
60 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 152 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 129 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 204 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 79 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1889M8.0
N. Moluccas Islands
6 Sep 1889 · 101 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 56 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1840
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Feb 1840 · 207 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.