QuakeScout
Magnitude4.4

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago

M4.4 earthquake 73 km E of Gorontalo, Indonesia

Monday, July 9, 1990, 03:33:17 UTC · 0.607°N, 123.721°E

A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 73 km E of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Monday, July 9, 1990, 03:33:17 UTC, at a depth of 257.4 km (intermediate).

Magnitude
4.4
Light · mb
Depth
257 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

60 tons of TNT

That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

17 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

257 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 625 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 124 km SW of this epicenter
  2. 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 233 km W of this epicenter
  3. 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 116 km NW of this epicenter
  4. 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 242 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 294 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 99 km W of this epicenter
  7. 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 154 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 197 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 128 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1845M7.0

    N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon

    8 Feb 1845 · 159 km away · intensity IX

    118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1932M7.7

    Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano

    14 May 1932 · 242 km away · intensity VII

    7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1990M7.6

    Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo

    18 Apr 1990 · 116 km away

    3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1858M7.3

    N. Moluccas Islands

    13 Dec 1858 · 257 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  5. 1989M5.6

    Molucca Passage: Morotai, Tanawangu

    8 Mar 1989 · 278 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  6. 1889M8.0

    N. Moluccas Islands

    6 Sep 1889 · 285 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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