Reviewed by USGSIndonesia92y ago
M5.9 earthquake 218 km W of Pariaman, Indonesia
Sunday, December 29, 1935, 03:39:55 UTC · 0.569°S, 98.156°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 218 km W of Pariaman, Indonesia on Sunday, December 29, 1935, 03:39:55 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on December 28, 1935.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 25 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
11 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 24 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
75 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 34 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7214 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaMay 29, 1914 · 113 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.768 km SE of Singkil, IndonesiaApril 1, 1921 · 263 km N of this epicenter
- 6.563 km SSW of Padang, IndonesiaSeptember 22, 1918 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.410 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaJune 28, 1926 · 208 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2126 km SW of Singkil, IndonesiaApril 3, 1915 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2251 km SSW of Singkil, IndonesiaOctober 29, 1913 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2247 km SSW of Singkil, IndonesiaFebruary 12, 1918 · 172 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,355 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 87 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 67 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 113 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 231 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1935M7.9
N Sumatera: Batu I,Padang,Sibolga
28 Dec 1935 · 64 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926
Sumatra
5 Jul 1926 · 251 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.