M 7.5 Earthquake and Tsunami (1.4 m) in Indonesia on 28 Sep 2018 10:02 UTC

Event summary

This earthquake can have a high humanitarian impact based on the magnitude and the affected population and their vulnerability.

GDACS ID EQ 1157757
Earthquake Magnitude: 7.5M
Glide number: EQ-2018-000156-IDN
Depth: 10 Km
Lat/Lon: -0.1781 , 119.8401
Event Date: 28 Sep 2018 10:02 UTC
28 Sep 2018 18:02 Local
Exposed Population: 350000 people in MMI
780000 people within 100km
Inserted at: 28 Sep 2018 10:21 UTC
INFORM Coping capacity:
4.8 (Indonesia)

GDACS Score

For more info on GDACS alert score click here.
  Earthquake
(Shakemap)		 Tsunami GDACS score
NEIC 3.2 1.2 3.2
us1000h3p4 Scaled population (vector) 6.42 Max wave alert 1.51m  
  C1 shakemap -1.73 Max wave realtime 1.44m  
  C2 shakemap 0.79      
  Country Vulnerability 0      
  INFORM_normalised 0.96      
Maximum expected impact using different data sources.
Virtual OSOCC
Meteo assessment
Satellite products
Analytical products
Indonesia - Earthquake, tsunami and volcano (ECHO 03 Oct 2018)Wed, 03 Oct 2018 13:00

  • Following the earthquake and tsunami on 28 September, official figures from 2 October put the death toll at 1 234, with this figure expected to rise as response teams reach damaged areas. 632 are reported injured and 99 missing,65733 houses damaged, and61867 evacuees are in 109 evacuation sites.
  • The has been activated following a request for assistance from the government of Indonesia. DG ECHO's Emergency Response Coordination Centre is now working 24/7 to mobilise offers of assistance to the affected areas. This in-kind assistance will complement theEUR 1.5 million of EU financial assistance was mobilised in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.
  • DG ECHO also deployed a technical expert who is in permanent contact with UN OCHA and the Red Cross. Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated on 28 September at 15.24 UTC and 10 grading maps have been produced so far.
  • Mount Soputan volcano, in the south-east Minahasa District of North Sulawesi Province, erupted on 3 October early morning UTC. The volcano is 580 km north-east of Palu City. The height of the volcanic ash column is around 4 000 meters above the crater or 5 809 m above sea level. Volcanic ash is estimated to fall in the area north-west of Mount Soputan. VONA (Volcano Observatory Notice of Aviation) has issued an aviation colour code Orange.
Indonesia - Earthquake and tsunami update (ECHO 01 Oct 2018)Mon, 01 Oct 2018 13:00

  • A major earthquake of 7.5 Mw, preceded by a 6.1 Mw event, and followed by a series of aftershocks of magnitude up to 5.7 Mw within 7 hours, hit the Island of Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah Province/Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) on 28 September. The main shock occurred at 10:02 UTC at a depth of 10 km and was followed by a tsunami of more than 3 metres that mainly hit the western coastline of the island.
  • Indonesia's disaster management agency (BNPB) reported that at least 844 people have been killed, with the number expected to rise, due to limited available information from certain areas. According to AHA Centre (ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management), as of 30 September, 540 have been injured, over 16 700 are displaced and housed in 24 evacuation sites. 
  • Immediate needs are medical and health related, including referral services, food and non-food items and emergency shelter, while search and rescue operations are ongoing. 
  • The Indonesian Government has confirmed it will accept international assistance. UN OCHA Geneva is consulting with colleagues in Indonesia as they liaise with the authorities on arrangements for the provision of international assistance.
  • DG ECHO has deployed a technical expert to Indonesia and is in permanent contact with UN OCHA and the Red Cross. Copernicus Emergency Management Service was activated on 28 September at 15.24 UTC. As of 1 October, five grading maps have been produced to assess the damage caused by the earthquake and tsunami.
Detailed event map. European Union, 2024. Map produced by EC-JRC.
The boundaries and the names shown on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the European Union.

Updates on volcanic activity (Smithsonian)

Latest media headlines

Indonesia se afana para encontrar supervivientes del tsunami 10/5/2018 10:03:00 AM.

Los equipos de rescate de Indonesia reanudaron hoy la búsqueda de víctimas bajo los escombros en la zona de la isla de Célebes afectada por el terremoto y tsunami, que comienza a recuperar la normalidad al cumplirse una semana del desastre.
...(more)
AP Photos: Editor selections from the past week in Asia 10/5/2018 10:01:00 AM.

In this Oct. 4, 2018, photo, a man stands amid the damage near boats swept ashore by the tsunami in Wani village on the outskirts of Palu, Central Sulawesi, Indonesia. People living in tents and shelters have little but uncertainty since th
...(more)
AP Photos: Editor selections from the past week in Asia 10/5/2018 10:00:00 AM.

An earthquake and tsunami struck a central Indonesia island a week ago, burying survivors and victims in mud and debris. Boats were washed ashore, buildings and streets crumbled, and people mourned their losses while coping with the damage.
...(more)
L'Indonésie: encore plus de 1.000 disparus présumés après le séisme su.. 10/5/2018 9:59:00 AM.

Plus de 1.000 personnes sont encore présumées disparues vendredi après le tremblement de terre suivi d'un tsunami qui a frappé l'île indonésienne des Célèbes, et dont le bilan a dépassé 1.500 morts. Sept jours après la catastrophe meurtrièr
...(more)

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Estimated casualties (PAGER)

USGS estimates the number of casualties for each earthquake for the Prompt Assessment of Global Earthquakes for Response (PAGER) product.
The graph shows the current fatalities estimate.

Exposed population

Analytical products

M7.5 Palu earthquake preliminary report

25/Oct/2018 08:40 UTC

A preliminary report on the M7.5 Palu earthquake co-seismic ruptures and landslides using image correlation techniques on optical satellite data.

EQ and Tsunami in Indonesia - Update JRC Emergency Report

02/Oct/2018 08:31 UTC

As a result of the strong 7.5 Mw earthquake that hit the island of Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah province/Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) on 28 Sep at 10:02 UTC at a depth of 10 km, and the consequent Tsunami that was generated, the humanitarian impact appears severe. Under the request of the Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (ERCC), JRC provided an updated assessment of the ongoing situation.

EQ and Tsunami in Indonesia - JRC Emergency Report

01/Oct/2018 07:27 UTC

Seven main earthquakes of magnitude Mw between 7.5 and 5.7 hit the island of Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah province/Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) on 28 September, within 7 hours and in 100 km. The main shock of magnitude 7.5 Mw was at 10:02 UTC at a depth of 10 km and it triggered a tsunami wave of more than 3 meters that hit the northern parts of Sulawesi Island. Indonesia's disaster management agency (BNPB) reported that at least 832 people have been killed, with the number expected to rise, due to limited reports from some areas. Under the request of the Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (ERCC), the JRC analysed the impact of the earthquakes and the tsunami (as of 28 September 2018 at 18UTC).

EQ and Tsunami in Indonesia - JRC Emergency Report

01/Oct/2018 07:23 UTC

Seven main earthquakes of magnitude Mw between 7.5 and 5.7 hit the island of Sulawesi (Sulawesi Tengah province/Central Sulawesi, Indonesia) on 28 September, within 7 hours and in 100 km. The main shock of magnitude 7.5 Mw was at 10:02 UTC at a depth of 10 km and it triggered a tsunami wave of more than 3 meters that hit the northern parts of Sulawesi Island. Indonesia's disaster management agency (BNPB) reported that at least 832 people have been killed, with the number expected to rise, due to limited reports from some areas. Under the request of the Emergency Response and Coordination Centre (ERCC), the JRC analysed the impact of the event (as of 28 September 2018 at 18:00UTC).

Daily Maps:

16/Nov/2018 07:31 UTC

Data, images, links, services and documents

For this events, GDACS has links to information from the following sources: EMSR (2), UNOSAT (1), EC-JRC (91), (5), NEIC (4), OCHA (1), INGV (1), DesInventar (2), WMO (2), USGS (5), INFORM (4), NOAA (1),