Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago
M7.1 earthquake 135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia
Thursday, May 24, 1990, 20:09:23 UTC · 7.363°S, 120.363°E
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, Indonesia on Thursday, May 24, 1990, 20:09:23 UTC, at a depth of 588.9 km (deep). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 589 km
- Deep
- 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: 200 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 kilotons of TNT
That is about 45 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,413 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: deep
589 km
Deep earthquakes (over 300 km) happen deep inside subducting plates. They rarely cause damage, but can be felt faintly over very large distances.
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 200 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.5 on June 8, 1990. 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 160 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 198 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 268 km W of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 168 km S of this epicenter
- 6.893 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaJuly 31, 1989 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 174 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 152 km S of this epicenter
- 6.543 km N of Ende, IndonesiaMarch 16, 1961 · 192 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 502 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 156 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 203 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 156 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1982M5.6
Flores Islands: Ruteng
6 Aug 1982 · 115 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 211 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 166 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.