Reviewed by USGSPhilippines95y ago
M7.0 earthquake 293 km SSE of Manuk Mangkaw, Philippines
Sunday, December 4, 1932, 08:11:17 UTC · 2.433°N, 121.039°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 293 km SSE of Manuk Mangkaw, Philippines on Sunday, December 4, 1932, 08:11:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on January 11, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
461 kilotons of TNT
That is about 31 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 966 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
14 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
15 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on December 4, 1932. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 213 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2295 km SSE of Tabiauan, PhilippinesMarch 29, 1907 · 264 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 154 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3211 km SE of Tarakan, IndonesiaJune 24, 1907 · 241 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3210 km ESE of Tarakan, IndonesiaMay 19, 1920 · 193 km W of this epicenter
- 5.5255 km N of Palu, IndonesiaNovember 20, 1927 · 145 km SW 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. The most severe:
- 1905M8.4
Minahassa Peninsula
22 Jan 1905 · 270 km away
- 1908M7.5
Celebes Sea
5 May 1908 · 227 km away
- 1907M7.3
Talaud Islands: Karakelong Island
29 Mar 1907 · 124 km away
tsunami
- 1860
Sulawesi: Minahassa
Aug 1860 · 126 km away
tsunami
- 1920
N. Moluccas Islands
29 Jan 1920 · 272 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.