M5.5 earthquake 121 km N of Tobelo, Indonesia
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 121 km N of Tobelo, Indonesia on Sun, Aug 18, 1985, 12:48 PM GMT+9 (03:48 UTC), 66 km (41 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.7 71 km ENE of Tobelo, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mw), moderate
- Local time
- UTC
- 1985-08-18 03:48:03 UTC
- Depth
- 65.7 km (40.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 2.807° N, 128.216° E
- Region
- Indonesia
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 2.5% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- -0.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
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 2.5 and up: 5 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 5.0109 km N of Tobelo, Indonesia · 15010 days ago · 33 km deep · 12 km away
- 4.753 km NNW of Tobelo, Indonesia · 15004 days ago · 33 km deep · 86 km away
- 5.3134 km NE of Tobelo, Indonesia · 15003 days ago · 69 km deep · 55 km away
- 4.7161 km N of Tobelo, Indonesia · 14988 days ago · 95 km deep · 62 km away
- 5.771 km ENE of Tobelo, Indonesia · 14980 days ago · 240 km deep · 88 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayIndonesia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0002hvj (also filed as gcmtb081885a, gcmt19850818034804, iscgem518334). Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:26 AM UTC.