Reviewed by USGSIndonesia36y ago
M4.7 earthquake 85 km ENE of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Friday, September 7, 1990, 19:06:34 UTC · 0.789°N, 123.788°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 85 km ENE of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Friday, September 7, 1990, 19:06:34 UTC, at a depth of 187.9 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on September 7, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 188 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
0 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
188 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 659 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 · 142 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 242 km W of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 113 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 237 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 281 km E of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 106 km W of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 172 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 191 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:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 141 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 237 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 113 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 247 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1989M5.6
Molucca Passage: Morotai, Tanawangu
8 Mar 1989 · 268 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1889M8.0
N. Moluccas Islands
6 Sep 1889 · 275 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.