M4.9 earthquake 240 km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 240 km NW of Tobelo, Indonesia on Sat, May 23, 1981, 8:26 PM GMT+8 (12:26 UTC), 72 km (45 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.3 215 km S of Sarangani, Philippines. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-05-23 12:26:01 UTC
- Depth
- 72.0 km (44.7 mi), intermediate-depth
- Epicenter
- 3.282° N, 126.499° E
- Region
- Indonesia
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.9 and up: 3 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 4.6200 km NE of Laikit, Laikit II (Dimembe), Indonesia · 16540 days ago · 33 km deep · 64 km away
- 5.3215 km S of Sarangani, Philippines · 16539 days ago · 101 km deep · 81 km away
- 4.7194 km NNW of Tobelo, Indonesia · 16538 days ago · 70 km deep · 73 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayIndonesia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001dtx. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:46 AM UTC.