Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago
M4.6 earthquake 130 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia
Sunday, May 27, 1990, 19:31:31 UTC · 7.433°S, 120.426°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 130 km N of Ruteng, Indonesia on Sunday, May 27, 1990, 19:31:31 UTC, at a depth of 636.3 km (deep). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on May 24, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 636 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 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
13 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
636 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 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 166 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 10 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 195 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0133 km NNE of Pototano, IndonesiaJuly 5, 1911 · 275 km W of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 280 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 161 km S of this epicenter
- 6.893 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaJuly 31, 1989 · 126 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 176 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 143 km S 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 · 165 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 193 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 165 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1982M5.6
Flores Islands: Ruteng
6 Aug 1982 · 106 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 213 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 169 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.