Reviewed by USGSIndonesia92y ago
M6.3 earthquake 184 km W of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Monday, November 25, 1935, 10:03:07 UTC · 5.630°N, 93.672°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 184 km W of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Monday, November 25, 1935, 10:03:07 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on December 9, 1929.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
49 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 102 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
122 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
35 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 100 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on November 26, 1935. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 156 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 195 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6249 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMarch 5, 1921 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5253 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1907 · 118 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.850 km ENE of Sabang, IndonesiaJuly 27, 1928 · 234 km E of this epicenter
- 5.8Nicobar Islands, India regionSeptember 20, 1932 · 263 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8232 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 22, 1934 · 197 km N of this epicenter
- 5.7233 km NNW of Sabang, IndonesiaAugust 8, 1931 · 231 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 258 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 189 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1935M6.5
Celebes Sea
25 Nov 1935 · 39 km away
tsunami
- 1885
Banda Atjeh
14 Dec 1885 · 180 km away
tsunami
- 1886
Koeta Radja (Atjeh)
31 Jan 1886 · 180 km away
tsunami
- 1887
Sumatra: Aceh: Sigli
19 May 1887 · 259 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.