Reviewed by USGSIndonesia28y ago
M4.6 earthquake 273 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Thursday, December 17, 1998, 17:25:55 UTC · 2.101°S, 124.959°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 273 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Thursday, December 17, 1998, 17:25:55 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on December 12, 1998.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
180 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 50 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on January 8, 1999. 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 436 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21965 Ceram Sea EarthquakeJanuary 24, 1965 · 126 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 295 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 8 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 297 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 275 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 230 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0114 km NW of Ambon, IndonesiaAugust 29, 1919 · 289 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8Molucca SeaDecember 9, 1993 · 299 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 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 · 131 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 8 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 · 242 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1885M7.3
Buru I, Ambon I, Haruku I
30 Apr 1885 · 286 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1876M6.8
Buru Island, Ceram Sea
28 May 1876 · 273 km away · intensity VII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.