M4.6 earthquake 35 km SSE of Tobelo, Indonesia
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 35 km SSE of Tobelo, Indonesia on Wed, Dec 16, 1987, 4:01 PM GMT+9 (07:01 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.0 36 km NNE of Sofifi, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 4.6 (mb), light
- Local time
- UTC
- 1987-12-16 07:01:24 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 1.432° N, 128.136° 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.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 1.6 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.69 km ESE of Sofifi, Indonesia · 14129 days ago · 33 km deep · 99 km away
- 5.036 km NNE of Sofifi, Indonesia · 14129 days ago · 35 km deep · 67 km away
- 4.742 km NNE of Sofifi, Indonesia · 14129 days ago · 33 km deep · 61 km away
- 4.824 km NNE of Ternate, Indonesia · 14128 days ago · 33 km deep · 90 km away
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Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0003baz. Read Tue, Sep 22, 2026, 8:46 PM UTC.