Reviewed by USGSIndonesia28y ago
M4.0 earthquake in Pulau-Pulau Sula, Indonesia
Tuesday, January 26, 1999, 02:40:09 UTC · 1.902°S, 125.687°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck in Pulau-Pulau Sula, Indonesia on Tuesday, January 26, 1999, 02:40:09 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
156 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Birds Head 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 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 512 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 · 87 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 255 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 90 km W of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 269 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1124 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaMarch 1, 1948 · 220 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1197 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 284 km E of this epicenter
- 7.1170 km WNW of Ambon, IndonesiaJune 9, 1938 · 182 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1204 km SSE of Sofifi, IndonesiaApril 16, 1963 · 278 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 72 km away
71 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 90 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 255 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1994M6.8
Halmahera
8 Oct 1994 · 265 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 214 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1885M7.3
Buru I, Ambon I, Haruku I
30 Apr 1885 · 212 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.