October 16, 1983 Earthquake: Tolitoli, Minahassa, Celebes, Indonesia
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Tolitoli, Minahassa, Celebes, Indonesia on October 16, 1983 at 05:32:28 UTC, 40 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- October 16, 1983
- Time
- 05:32:28 UTC
- Place
- Tolitoli, Minahassa, Celebes, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 40 km (25 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 1.084° N, 121.052° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 20
- Houses damaged
- 15
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Oct 16, 1983 Origin Time O5h 32m 24.8s UTC, Epicen t r e
1.48N-121.OlE, Magnitude: 5.9, Depth: 46 km, intensity VI.
Toli-Toli: Central Sulawesi - according to the news in the
Kompas newspaper, on October 21, 1983 the quake caused 20
houses in Toli-Toli to collapse and 15 aborigines' houses were seriously damaged. (reference #1188)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 14, 1968, Tambu,coast of Mapaga, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- May 19, 1938, Sulawesi Island, Indonesia
- January 1, 1996, Minahassa Peninsula, Tolitoli, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- November 16, 2008, Minahassa Peninsula, Indonesia
- October 25, 1983, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
- August 1860, Minahassa, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- November 25, 1997, Minahassa Peninsula,gorontalo, Sulawesi, Indonesia
- April 29, 1960, Una-Una Island, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia
- June 20, 1991, Gorontalo, Mamado, Minahassa, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1983The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1983Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 4992.