Reviewed by USGSIndonesia25y ago
M4.9 earthquake 161 km ENE of Katabu, Indonesia
Friday, November 9, 2001, 12:22:46 UTC · 4.628°S, 123.943°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 161 km ENE of Katabu, Indonesia on Friday, November 9, 2001, 12:22:46 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on November 3, 2001.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- 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
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
5 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
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 140 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.5155 km E of Kendari, IndonesiaOctober 19, 2001 · 59 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0194 km SE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 6, 1914 · 214 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0166 km NNW of Maubara, Timor LesteJune 22, 1966 · 299 km S of this epicenter
- 6.9215 km NW of Maubara, Timor LesteOctober 18, 1964 · 288 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8161 km S of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 19, 1913 · 295 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5201 km SSE of Baubau, IndonesiaAugust 18, 1912 · 280 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5217 km NE of Maumere, IndonesiaAugust 7, 2000 · 274 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Banda SeaAugust 4, 1969 · 190 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 2001M7.5
Banda Sea
19 Oct 2001 · 59 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.