Reviewed by USGSIndonesia19y ago
M5.2 earthquake 151 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia
Monday, September 17, 2007, 23:27:40 UTC · 0.290°N, 125.821°E
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 151 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia on Monday, September 17, 2007, 23:27:40 UTC, at a depth of 62.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on September 1, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 5.2
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 63 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
951 tons of TNT
That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
19 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
63 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on October 15, 2007. 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 1,616 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 13 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7264 km ESE of Luwuk, IndonesiaNovember 29, 1998 · 282 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 139 km N of this epicenter
- 7.689 km E of Luwuk, IndonesiaMay 4, 2000 · 294 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5126 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 2007 · 100 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 184 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3108 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 5, 1908 · 45 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 26 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 268 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 171 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2000M7.6
Sulawesi: Luwuk, Banggai, Peleng,
4 May 2000 · 294 km away
54 deaths$30 million damagetsunami
- 1998M7.7
Mangole, Manado, Taliabu
29 Nov 1998 · 282 km away · intensity VII
41 deaths$200 million damagetsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 174 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 227 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 13 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.