Reviewed by USGSIndonesia26y ago
M4.9 earthquake 83 km SE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Tuesday, August 22, 2000, 20:53:26 UTC · 1.573°S, 123.215°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 83 km SE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Tuesday, August 22, 2000, 20:53:26 UTC, at a depth of 62.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on August 20, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
122 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on September 8, 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 523 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 · 179 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 66 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 260 km N of this epicenter
- 7.491 km SW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1984 · 183 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 120 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8109 km WSW of Luwuk, IndonesiaMarch 17, 1909 · 158 km W of this epicenter
- 6.747 km WNW of Luwuk, IndonesiaJune 30, 1964 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 145 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2000M7.6
Sulawesi: Luwuk, Banggai, Peleng,
4 May 2000 · 66 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1927M6.2
Sulawesi: Donggala
1 Dec 1927 · 285 km away · intensity VII
50 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 194 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1939M8.0
Centrtal Sulawesi: Kalo,Luwuk,Sula I
21 Dec 1939 · 177 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1907
Sulawesi: Lemo, Colo, Anja, Olu Congko
30 Jul 1907 · 251 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1960
Central Sulawesi: Una-Una Island
29 Apr 1960 · 225 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.