Reviewed by USGSIndonesia67y ago
M6.6 earthquake 108 km NNE of Palu, Indonesia
Thursday, October 15, 1959, 06:15:41 UTC · 0.041°N, 120.119°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 108 km NNE of Palu, Indonesia on Thursday, October 15, 1959, 06:15:41 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on January 5, 1941.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VI
- 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
124 kilotons of TNT
That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 260 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
70 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea 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 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 38 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 · 297 km E of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 179 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km NE of Palu, IndonesiaMay 19, 1938 · 47 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 250 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0293 km SSE of Manuk Mangkaw, PhilippinesDecember 4, 1932 · 285 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km WSW of Luwuk, IndonesiaMarch 17, 1909 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7152 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 5, 1941 · 299 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.628 km E of Poso, IndonesiaDecember 5, 1923 · 188 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 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 · 124 km away · intensity VII
50 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M7.7
Sulawesi Island
19 May 1938 · 47 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1921M6.2
Sangkulirang,Rending,Kariorang,Sekuran
14 May 1921 · 257 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907
Sulawesi: Lemo, Colo, Anja, Olu Congko
30 Jul 1907 · 247 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1860
Sulawesi: Minahassa
Aug 1860 · 171 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.