M5.8 earthquake 77 km NE of Ruteng, Indonesia

Tuesday, September 28, 1926, 15:55:14 UTC · 8.093°S, 120.939°E

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 77 km NE of Ruteng, Indonesia on Tuesday, September 28, 1926, 15:55:14 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on October 15, 1923.

Magnitude: 5.8; Moderate · 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

8 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 18 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

19 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Timor 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 75 km

USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes 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 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 500 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 246 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 246 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 247 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1837
Sumbawa Island: Bima
28 Nov 1837 · 272 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)
1897M5.5
Kajuadi Island
15 Mar 1897 · 145 km away
tsunami
1836
Flores Sea
5 Mar 1836 · 247 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers