Reviewed by USGSIndonesia28y ago
M4.7 earthquake 136 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Saturday, December 26, 1998, 06:42:05 UTC · 1.462°S, 123.901°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 136 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Saturday, December 26, 1998, 06:42:05 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
- 4.7
- 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
162 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 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.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 542 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 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 202 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 129 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 271 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 217 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 282 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 186 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km WSW of Luwuk, IndonesiaMarch 17, 1909 · 231 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 112 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 266 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 129 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 191 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 242 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1960
Central Sulawesi: Una-Una Island
29 Apr 1960 · 288 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1975M6.6
Sanana Island
5 Mar 1975 · 272 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.