M7.6 earthquake 89 km E of Luwuk, Indonesia

Thursday, May 4, 2000, 04:21:16 UTC · 1.105°S, 123.573°E

A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 89 km E of Luwuk, Indonesia on Thursday, May 4, 2000, 04:21:16 UTC, at a depth of 26.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.7 on November 29, 1998.

Magnitude: 7.6; Major · mwc
Depth: 26 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

3.8 megatons of TNT

That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

155 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

26 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 70 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on May 5, 2000. 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 648 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 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 98 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2000M7.6
Sulawesi: Luwuk, Banggai, Peleng,
4 May 2000 · 0 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 182 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 267 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 270 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 138 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 247 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers