Reviewed by USGSIndonesia37y ago
M6.7 earthquake 53 km SE of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Saturday, December 9, 1989, 20:38:08 UTC · 0.141°N, 123.340°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 53 km SE of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Saturday, December 9, 1989, 20:38:08 UTC, at a depth of 151.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on August 6, 1984.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 151 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 kilotons of TNT
That is about 11 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 355 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
81 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: intermediate
151 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on December 9, 1989. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 456 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 · 63 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 198 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 284 km E of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 86 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 242 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 208 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 296 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 127 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 224 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 284 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1983M6.1
Central Sulawesi
25 Oct 1983 · 297 km away · intensity VII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 41 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 241 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1983M6.0
Celebes: Minahassa: Tolitoli
16 Oct 1983 · 275 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.