Reviewed by USGSIndonesia19y ago
M4.1 earthquake 182 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia
Sunday, December 16, 2007, 01:55:24 UTC · 2.375°N, 126.496°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 182 km WNW of Tobelo, Indonesia on Sunday, December 16, 2007, 01:55:24 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
36 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Birds Head and Sunda plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
35 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on December 18, 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 1,906 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8161 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesApril 1, 1936 · 210 km N of this epicenter
- 7.7228 km SW of Sarangani, PhilippinesJune 11, 1972 · 300 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.790 km NE of Tobelo, IndonesiaSeptember 8, 1966 · 222 km E of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 231 km S of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 105 km S of this epicenter
- 7.6101 km SE of Sarangani, PhilippinesDecember 16, 1910 · 260 km N of this epicenter
- 7.6223 km ESE of Sarangani, PhilippinesJanuary 30, 1969 · 271 km N of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 138 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,979 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1856
Sangihe Pulau (Volcanic)
2 Mar 1856 · 182 km away
2,806 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1845M7.0
N Sulawesi: Menado, Tikala, Tomohon
8 Feb 1845 · 208 km away · intensity IX
118 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 197 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 204 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 231 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 148 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.