Reviewed by USGSIndonesia63y ago
M6.7 earthquake 99 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Saturday, March 28, 1964, 11:30:07 UTC · 0.418°N, 122.174°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 99 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Saturday, March 28, 1964, 11:30:07 UTC, at a depth of 115.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on November 8, 1941.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 115 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
158 kilotons of TNT
That is about 10 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 331 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
180 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
115 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 50 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 84 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 65 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km NE of Palu, IndonesiaMay 19, 1938 · 189 km W of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 81 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 110 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0293 km SSE of Manuk Mangkaw, PhilippinesDecember 4, 1932 · 257 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km WSW of Luwuk, IndonesiaMarch 17, 1909 · 185 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 67 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1927M6.2
Sulawesi: Donggala
1 Dec 1927 · 214 km away · intensity VII
50 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M7.7
Sulawesi Island
19 May 1938 · 189 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 103 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907
Sulawesi: Lemo, Colo, Anja, Olu Congko
30 Jul 1907 · 299 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1960
Central Sulawesi: Una-Una Island
29 Apr 1960 · 127 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1905M8.4
Minahassa Peninsula
22 Jan 1905 · 112 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.