Reviewed by USGSIndonesia4y ago
M4.9 earthquake 125 km SSW of Katabu, Indonesia
Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 05:53:26 UTC · 6.004°S, 122.133°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 125 km SSW of Katabu, Indonesia on Tuesday, December 21, 2021, 05:53:26 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on December 15, 2021.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
168 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 325 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9169 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 17, 1996 · 136 km S of this epicenter
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 277 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5155 km E of Kendari, IndonesiaOctober 19, 2001 · 289 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3Flores SeaDecember 14, 2021 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 247 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 75 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 213 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0150 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaFebruary 27, 2015 · 150 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,519 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 277 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 287 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 2003M6.5
Flores: Reo
25 Mar 2003 · 297 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 245 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2021M7.3
Flores Region
14 Dec 2021 · 178 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2011M6.1
Sulawesi: Kendari
24 Apr 2011 · 173 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.