Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.2 earthquake 45 km W of Tobelo, Indonesia
Monday, January 28, 2008, 00:28:15 UTC · 1.695°N, 127.598°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 45 km W of Tobelo, Indonesia on Monday, January 28, 2008, 00:28:15 UTC, at a depth of 123.9 km (intermediate).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 124 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
68 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
124 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on February 8, 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 1,742 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.790 km NE of Tobelo, IndonesiaSeptember 8, 1966 · 126 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, IndonesiaMay 14, 1932 · 240 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.7121 km E of Bitung, IndonesiaAugust 10, 1968 · 155 km W of this epicenter
- 7.564 km NNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJune 25, 1907 · 61 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5126 km WNW of Ternate, IndonesiaJanuary 21, 2007 · 162 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5146 km NW of Ternate, IndonesiaAugust 14, 1986 · 120 km W of this epicenter
- 7.5210 km SSE of Sarangani, PhilippinesAugust 17, 1912 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5273 km N of Tobelo, IndonesiaOctober 23, 1914 · 283 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 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 · 105 km away · intensity IX
34 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1994M7.0
Kau
21 Jan 1994 · 77 km away
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1932M7.7
Sulawesi: Kakas,Langowan,Poso,Tondano
14 May 1932 · 240 km away · intensity VII
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2007M7.5
Molucca Islands: N
21 Jan 2007 · 162 km away
4 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2003M7.0
Morotai, Berebere, Daruba
26 May 2003 · 158 km away
1 deathLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1858M7.3
N. Moluccas Islands
13 Dec 1858 · 194 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.