Reviewed by USGSIndonesia42y ago
M4.7 earthquake 83 km ENE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Sunday, September 2, 1984, 22:07:17 UTC · 0.727°S, 123.507°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 83 km ENE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Sunday, September 2, 1984, 22:07:17 UTC, at a depth of 44.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on August 16, 1984.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 45 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
130 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
45 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 337 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 112 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 257 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 292 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 179 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 131 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 260 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 292 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 215 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 125 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 287 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 292 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 99 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 236 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1857
Sulawesi Island: Kema
17 Nov 1857 · 298 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1960
Central Sulawesi: Una-Una Island
29 Apr 1960 · 225 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.