Reviewed by USGSIndonesia26y ago
M4.7 earthquake 173 km SSW of Tomohon, Indonesia
Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 04:36:05 UTC · 0.205°S, 124.437°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 173 km SSW of Tomohon, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 31, 2000, 04:36:05 UTC, at a depth of 54.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on May 28, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 54 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
19 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
54 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on June 7, 2000. 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 919 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 · 184 km W of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 234 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 174 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 272 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 139 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJune 20, 1991 · 241 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 206 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 223 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 193 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2000M7.6
Sulawesi: Luwuk, Banggai, Peleng,
4 May 2000 · 139 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 214 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 174 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 234 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 241 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.