Reviewed by USGSIndonesia103y ago
M5.8 earthquake 101 km WSW of Ternate, Indonesia
Saturday, May 3, 1924, 11:19:37 UTC · 0.310°N, 126.604°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 101 km WSW of Ternate, Indonesia on Saturday, May 3, 1924, 11:19:37 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on July 6, 1913.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
66 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
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 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 131 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 126 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0121 km ESE of Labuha, IndonesiaMay 1, 1904 · 259 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5232 km NNW of Amahai, IndonesiaJuly 6, 1913 · 256 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.394 km SE of Sofifi, IndonesiaOctober 29, 1906 · 178 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2145 km W of Tobelo, IndonesiaMarch 26, 1913 · 180 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 152 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 234 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 95 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 102 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1889M8.0
N. Moluccas Islands
6 Sep 1889 · 86 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 127 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1840
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Feb 1840 · 97 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.