Reviewed by USGSIndonesia93y ago
M6.1 earthquake 190 km SSW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia
Tuesday, August 21, 1934, 19:26:19 UTC · 0.116°S, 98.422°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 190 km SSW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia on Tuesday, August 21, 1934, 19:26:19 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on June 28, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
24 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 50 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
125 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 13 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.7214 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaMay 29, 1914 · 105 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.768 km SE of Singkil, IndonesiaApril 1, 1921 · 214 km N of this epicenter
- 6.563 km SSW of Padang, IndonesiaSeptember 22, 1918 · 238 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.410 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaJune 28, 1926 · 187 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2126 km SW of Singkil, IndonesiaApril 3, 1915 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2251 km SSW of Singkil, IndonesiaOctober 29, 1913 · 137 km W of this epicenter
- 6.2247 km SSW of Singkil, IndonesiaFebruary 12, 1918 · 180 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0135 km SW of Padang, IndonesiaApril 16, 1917 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 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 · 142 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 49 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 66 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 186 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1926
Sumatra
5 Jul 1926 · 221 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1861M6.5
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1861 · 233 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.