Reviewed by USGSIndonesia37y ago
M4.8 earthquake 76 km SE of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Saturday, December 9, 1989, 21:33:57 UTC · 0.143°N, 123.628°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 76 km SE of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Saturday, December 9, 1989, 21:33:57 UTC, at a depth of 189.3 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on December 9, 1989.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 189 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
54 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
189 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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on December 10, 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 513 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 · 95 km W of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 229 km W of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 252 km E of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 110 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 126 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 211 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 233 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1128 km ESE of Laikit, Laikit II (Dimembe), IndonesiaJune 12, 1947 · 295 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 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 · 201 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 252 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 280 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 72 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 209 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1857
Sulawesi Island: Kema
17 Nov 1857 · 220 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.