Reviewed by USGSIndonesia35y ago
M5.3 earthquake 67 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Monday, June 17, 1991, 05:09:52 UTC · 0.516°N, 122.460°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 67 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Monday, June 17, 1991, 05:09:52 UTC, at a depth of 97.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on May 19, 1991.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 97 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
146 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
97 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 75 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on June 26, 1991. 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 515 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 · 70 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 94 km W of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 87 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km NE of Palu, IndonesiaMay 19, 1938 · 223 km W of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 48 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 67 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1156 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1913 · 112 km NW 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 390 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1968M7.4
Sulawesi: Tambu,Coast Of Mapaga
14 Aug 1968 · 298 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 287 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1927M6.2
Sulawesi: Donggala
1 Dec 1927 · 245 km away · intensity VII
50 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M7.7
Sulawesi Island
19 May 1938 · 223 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 87 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1983M6.1
Central Sulawesi
25 Oct 1983 · 191 km away · intensity VII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.