Reviewed by USGSIndonesia34y ago
M4.9 earthquake 125 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia
Tuesday, December 29, 1992, 17:32:58 UTC · 7.529°S, 120.803°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 125 km NNE of Ruteng, Indonesia on Tuesday, December 29, 1992, 17:32:58 UTC, at a depth of 39.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on December 28, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 39 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
29 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Banda Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
39 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 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 235 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.837 km WNW of Maumere, IndonesiaDecember 12, 1992 · 160 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.270 km SE of Maumere, IndonesiaOctober 20, 1938 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1135 km NNE of Labuan Bajo, IndonesiaMay 24, 1990 · 52 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0199 km SSW of Katabu, IndonesiaMarch 3, 1927 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9160 km NNE of Maumere, IndonesiaJune 7, 1991 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 6.835 km SW of Ruteng, IndonesiaJanuary 26, 1968 · 160 km S of this epicenter
- 6.893 km NNW of Ende, IndonesiaJuly 31, 1989 · 86 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.746 km NE of Bima, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1954 · 211 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,015 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1992M7.8
Flores Region, Maumere, Babi
12 Dec 1992 · 160 km away · intensity XI
2,500 deaths$100 million damagetsunami
- 1820M7.5
Sulawesi: Makasar
29 Dec 1820 · 207 km away · intensity X
500 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1982M5.9
Flores Island: Eastern
25 Dec 1982 · 269 km away
13 deaths$1 million damagetsunami
- 1961M6.5
Flores: Endeh
16 Mar 1961 · 151 km away · intensity VIII
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1828
Sulawesi
29 Dec 1828 · 207 km away · intensity IX
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1982M5.6
Flores Islands: Ruteng
6 Aug 1982 · 97 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.