Reviewed by USGSIndonesia26y ago
M4.6 earthquake 82 km ENE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Saturday, August 5, 2000, 09:37:13 UTC · 0.689°S, 123.481°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 82 km ENE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Saturday, August 5, 2000, 09:37:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on August 4, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- 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
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
129 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
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 690 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 · 107 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.8160 km W of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJanuary 22, 1905 · 252 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 220 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 293 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 220 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 47 km S of this epicenter
- 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJune 20, 1991 · 223 km N of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 173 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 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 · 285 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2000M7.6
Sulawesi: Luwuk, Banggai, Peleng,
4 May 2000 · 47 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 220 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 293 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 220 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 223 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.