Reviewed by USGSIndonesia72y ago
M7.0 earthquake 190 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 17, 1955, 14:49:55 UTC · 6.828°N, 93.869°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 190 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 17, 1955, 14:49:55 UTC, at a depth of 25.3 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 25 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
567 kilotons of TNT
That is about 38 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,189 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
70 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 34 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 198 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 48 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.720 km SSW of Sigli, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1945 · 288 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 195 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6249 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMarch 5, 1921 · 69 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5253 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1907 · 89 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3273 km SSE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 21, 1916 · 282 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3184 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaNovember 25, 1935 · 135 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 122 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 246 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 278 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 60 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1955M7.3
Little Nicobar Island
17 May 1955 · 39 km away
tsunami
- 1949M6.7
Banda Aceh
9 May 1949 · 239 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.