Earthquakes near Kotamobagu, 1927–2026
From 1927 to October 19, 2026, USGS recorded 16 earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more within 100 km of Kotamobagu, or 200 km for magnitude 7 and above. 6 of them reached magnitude 7 or more; the strongest was a magnitude 8.1 on December 21, 1939 (1939 Sulawesi Earthquake).
The last 30 days · as of
USGS recorded no earthquake of magnitude 4.5 or more within 100 km of Kotamobagu in the last 30 days.
What the record holds
The deadliest was not the strongest: a magnitude 7.7 on May 14, 1932 (148 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia), for which NOAA records 7 deaths. 6 earthquakes here in these years are on NOAA’s list of significant earthquakes. NOAA records deaths in 5 of the events here, 13 in all. The ten years with the most magnitude 6+ earthquakes were 1987–1996, with 7 of the 16. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 7.5 on June 20, 1991 (79 km NNW of Gorontalo, Indonesia). NOAA lists 3 significant eruptions of 2 volcanoes within 100 km of Kotamobagu. The largest was Mahawu on July 12, 1958, at 2 on the volcanic explosivity index. It killed one person by NOAA’s count.
The events
- June 20, 1991Earthquake · M 7.579 km NNW of Gorontalo, IndonesiaUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- April 18, 1990Earthquake · M 7.875 km NNW of Gorontalo, Indonesia · 3 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI
- July 12, 1958Eruption · VEI 2Mahawu · one death (NOAA)NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
- December 21, 1939Earthquake · M 8.11939 Sulawesi EarthquakeUSGS · NOAA NCEI
- May 14, 1932Earthquake · M 7.7148 km SE of Tondano, Indonesia · 7 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI
Good to know
- An event counts for Kotamobagu when it began within 100 km of its centre, or 200 km for an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more. Damage can reach further.
- USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
- NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
- Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
- A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
- Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history
Other places nearby
- ManadoNorth Sulawesi · Flights, Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes
- BitungNorth Sulawesi · Flights, Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes
- GorontaloGorontalo · Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes
- TernateNorth Maluku · Flights, Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes
- Toli-ToliCentral Sulawesi · Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes
- PaluCentral Sulawesi · Flights, Weather, ISS passes, Sunrise and sunset, Earthquakes