M7.5 earthquake 126 km WNW of Ternate, Indonesia

Sunday, January 21, 2007, 11:27:45 UTC · 1.065°N, 126.282°E

A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck 126 km WNW of Ternate, Indonesia on Sunday, January 21, 2007, 11:27:45 UTC, at a depth of 22.0 km (shallow). USGS received 13 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of VI (strong). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on August 14, 1986.

Magnitude: 7.5; Major · mwc
Depth: 22 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 13; Max intensity VI
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2.7 megatons of TNT

That is about 178 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 5,623 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

12 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Molucca Sea and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

22 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Bitung, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia	VI · Strong	5	131 km
Manado, Sulawesi Utara, Indonesia	V · Moderate	5	168 km
Ternate, Maluku Utara, Indonesia	V · Moderate	1	125 km

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 200 km

USGS lists 244 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on January 21, 2007. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 1,671 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 172 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 166 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 117 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 161 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 88 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 0 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 32 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers