QuakeScout
Magnitude6.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia86y ago

M6.7 earthquake 152 km NW of Gorontalo, Indonesia

Sunday, January 5, 1941, 18:47:02 UTC · 1.659°N, 122.272°E

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 152 km NW of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Sunday, January 5, 1941, 18:47:02 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.1 on December 21, 1939.

Magnitude
6.7
Strong · mw
Depth
25 km
Shallow
Felt reports
0
Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking
V
Moderate (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

142 kilotons of TNT

That is about 9 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 299 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

77 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

25 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 23 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 195 km S of this epicenter
  2. 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 137 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 7.7120 km NE of Palu, IndonesiaMay 19, 1938 · 270 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.2295 km SSE of Tabiauan, PhilippinesMarch 29, 1907 · 238 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 50 km SW of this epicenter
  6. 7.0293 km SSE of Manuk Mangkaw, PhilippinesDecember 4, 1932 · 162 km NW of this epicenter
  7. 6.730 km N of Luwuk, IndonesiaDecember 23, 1912 · 265 km S of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 135 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1845M7.0

    N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon

    8 Feb 1845 · 287 km away · intensity IX

    118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1938M7.7

    Sulawesi Island

    19 May 1938 · 270 km away · intensity IX

    17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1939M8.0

    Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I

    21 Dec 1939 · 201 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 1905M8.4

    Minahassa Peninsula

    22 Jan 1905 · 109 km away

  5. 1908M7.5

    Celebes Sea

    5 May 1908 · 170 km away

  6. 1907M7.3

    Talaud Islands: Karakelong Island

    29 Mar 1907 · 152 km away

    tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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