Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago
M5.5 earthquake 58 km SSW of Ruteng, Indonesia
Friday, June 8, 1990, 21:37:38 UTC · 9.103°S, 120.264°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 58 km SSW of Ruteng, Indonesia on Friday, June 8, 1990, 21:37:38 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on May 24, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 33 km
- Shallow
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
39 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Timor plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 310 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 271 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 194 km N of this epicenter
- 7.084 km SSE of Dompu, IndonesiaMay 9, 1922 · 175 km W of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 26 km N of this epicenter
- 6.893 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaJuly 31, 1989 · 170 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 177 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.724 km ESE of Ruteng, IndonesiaNovember 28, 1928 · 63 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5120 km WSW of Waingapu, IndonesiaDecember 19, 1986 · 148 km SW 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 · 272 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 216 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 272 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1982M5.6
Flores Islands: Ruteng
6 Aug 1982 · 88 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1836M7.5
Flores Sea
28 Nov 1836 · 194 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1954M6.8
Sumabawa: Bima,Raba
2 Nov 1954 · 185 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.