Reviewed by USGSIndonesia33y ago
M4.5 earthquake 162 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia
Wednesday, December 22, 1993, 02:46:06 UTC · 0.306°N, 125.981°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 162 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia on Wednesday, December 22, 1993, 02:46:06 UTC, at a depth of 118.7 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on December 17, 1993.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 119 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
1 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
119 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on January 3, 1994. 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 1,080 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 14 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 133 km N of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 176 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 60 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.2182 km WNW of Tobelo, IndonesiaOctober 10, 1938 · 240 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1129 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaMay 3, 1925 · 108 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1197 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 272 km SE 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 159 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 181 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 157 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 14 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 77 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1989M5.6
Molucca Passage: Morotai, Tanawangu
8 Mar 1989 · 84 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1889M8.0
N. Moluccas Islands
6 Sep 1889 · 83 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.