Reviewed by USGSIndonesia103y ago
M6.5 earthquake 100 km E of Palopo, Indonesia
Tuesday, July 29, 1924, 05:18:42 UTC · 3.137°S, 121.091°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 100 km E of Palopo, Indonesia on Tuesday, July 29, 1924, 05:18:42 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.6 on February 13, 1924.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- 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
91 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 191 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
127 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 178 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km WSW of Luwuk, IndonesiaMarch 17, 1909 · 230 km N of this epicenter
- 6.6117 km E of Palopo, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 1924 · 20 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.628 km E of Poso, IndonesiaDecember 5, 1923 · 193 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3Sulawesi, IndonesiaJuly 29, 1907 · 255 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.1119 km N of Kendari, IndonesiaJune 3, 1917 · 168 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1907
Sulawesi: Lemo, Colo, Anja, Olu Congko
30 Jul 1907 · 127 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.