Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.1 earthquake 42 km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia
Monday, January 14, 2008, 13:07:37 UTC · 1.972°N, 127.716°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 42 km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia on Monday, January 14, 2008, 13:07:37 UTC, at a depth of 138.5 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 139 km
- Intermediate
- 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
37 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Birds Head plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: intermediate
139 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on January 28, 2008. 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 1,724 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 · 295 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.790 km NE of Tobelo, IndonesiaSeptember 8, 1966 · 98 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 175 km W of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 93 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5126 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 2007 · 189 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 134 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5210 km SSE of Sarangani, PhilippinesAugust 17, 1912 · 263 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 55 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1855
Maluku: Ternate Island
14 Jul 1855 · 138 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 106 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 269 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 189 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2003M7.0
Morotai, Berebere, Daruba
26 May 2003 · 133 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 219 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.