Reviewed by USGSIndonesia26y ago
M4.6 earthquake 84 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Wednesday, May 24, 2000, 06:34:24 UTC · 1.237°S, 123.488°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 84 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 24, 2000, 06:34:24 UTC, at a depth of 62.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on May 22, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 62 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
168 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
62 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on June 5, 2000. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 3.290 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 9 km E of this epicenter
- 3.9104 km SE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 41 km S of this epicenter
- 4.7116 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 33 km E of this epicenter
- 4.477 km SE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 34 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.691 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 11 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.763 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia26y ago · 25 km W of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 645 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 156 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 292 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 278 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 17 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJune 20, 1991 · 282 km N of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 231 km N of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 167 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 17 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 181 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 278 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 282 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 148 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1859M7.3
Sulawesi
29 Jul 1859 · 263 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.