Reviewed by USGSIndonesia26y ago
M4.8 earthquake 135 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia
Thursday, October 5, 2000, 13:10:44 UTC · 1.213°S, 123.979°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 135 km ESE of Luwuk, Indonesia on Thursday, October 5, 2000, 13:10:44 UTC, at a depth of 73.8 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on September 25, 2000.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 74 km
- Intermediate
- 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
141 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: intermediate
74 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 M4.6 on October 24, 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 668 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.21965 Ceram Sea EarthquakeJanuary 24, 1965 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeDecember 21, 1939 · 187 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaApril 18, 1990 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 277 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 47 km W of this epicenter
- 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaJune 20, 1991 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.433 km NW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1941 · 251 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 176 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1965M7.6
Sanana Island
24 Jan 1965 · 270 km away
71 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 · 139 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 277 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1990M7.6
Minahassa Peninsula: Bolaang-Gorontalo
18 Apr 1990 · 294 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1991M7.5
Minahassa: Gorontalo, Mamado
20 Jun 1991 · 299 km away · intensity VI
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.