Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago
M4.6 earthquake 48 km E of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 22, 1990, 20:47:31 UTC · 0.499°N, 123.499°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 48 km E of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 22, 1990, 20:47:31 UTC, at a depth of 280.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 19, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 280 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
44 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
280 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 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 552 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 · 97 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 209 km W of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 105 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 265 km E of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 78 km W of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 127 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 221 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 200 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 128 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 186 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 265 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 105 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 284 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 78 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 229 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.