Reviewed by USGSIndonesia25y ago
M5.5 earthquake 157 km ENE of Katabu, Indonesia
Saturday, October 20, 2001, 19:17:52 UTC · 4.561°S, 123.885°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 157 km ENE of Katabu, Indonesia on Saturday, October 20, 2001, 19:17:52 UTC, at a depth of 28.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on October 19, 2001.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 29 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
11 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Banda Sea plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
29 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 75 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on October 21, 2001. 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 124 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 299 km N of this epicenter
- 7.5155 km E of Kendari, IndonesiaOctober 19, 2001 · 51 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 222 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 296 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 285 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 286 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5217 km NE of Maumere, IndonesiaAugust 7, 2000 · 279 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Banda SeaAugust 4, 1969 · 200 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 41 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 299 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 2001M7.5
Banda Sea
19 Oct 2001 · 51 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.