M7.7 earthquake 264 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia

Sunday, November 29, 1998, 14:10:31 UTC · 2.071°S, 124.891°E

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck 264 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Sunday, November 29, 1998, 14:10:31 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M8.2 on January 24, 1965.

Magnitude: 7.7; Major · mwc
Depth: 33 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5.4 megatons of TNT

That is about 355 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11,220 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

176 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea 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 200 km

USGS lists 38 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.1 on December 26, 1998. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 435 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 119 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 139 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 0 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 295 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 241 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1885M7.3
Buru I, Ambon I, Haruku I
30 Apr 1885 · 294 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1876M6.8
Buru Island, Ceram Sea
28 May 1876 · 282 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers