Reviewed by USGSIndonesia35y ago
M5.1 earthquake 84 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia
Wednesday, June 26, 1991, 00:09:31 UTC · 0.449°N, 122.310°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 84 km W of Gorontalo, Indonesia on Wednesday, June 26, 1991, 00:09:31 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on June 21, 1991.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · mb
- 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
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
164 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: 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 500 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 · 75 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 79 km W of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 102 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7120 km NE of Palu, IndonesiaMay 19, 1938 · 205 km W of this epicenter
- 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJune 20, 1991 · 99 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 66 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 64 km S of this epicenter
- 7.2112 km N of Palu, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1968 · 287 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 272 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1968M7.4
Sulawesi: Tambu,Coast Of Mapaga
14 Aug 1968 · 280 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1927M6.2
Sulawesi: Donggala
1 Dec 1927 · 228 km away · intensity VII
50 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1938M7.7
Sulawesi Island
19 May 1938 · 205 km away · intensity IX
17 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 102 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1983M6.1
Central Sulawesi
25 Oct 1983 · 178 km away · intensity VII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 99 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.