Reviewed by USGSIndonesia110y ago
M6.2 earthquake 247 km SSW of Singkil, Indonesia
Tuesday, February 12, 1918, 03:00:34 UTC · 0.260°N, 96.847°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 247 km SSW of Singkil, Indonesia on Tuesday, February 12, 1918, 03:00:34 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on November 4, 1917.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
28 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 59 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
9 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
15 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 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 274 km N of this epicenter
- 6.860 km W of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1908 · 278 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.7214 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaMay 29, 1914 · 79 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2126 km SW of Singkil, IndonesiaApril 3, 1915 · 126 km N of this epicenter
- 6.2251 km SSW of Singkil, IndonesiaOctober 29, 1913 · 44 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.133 km SW of Sinabang, IndonesiaDecember 19, 1915 · 237 km N of this epicenter
- 5.9southwest of Sumatra, IndonesiaApril 12, 1907 · 126 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 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 · 158 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 131 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 241 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 188 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
26 Apr 1861 · 110 km away
tsunami
- 1852M6.8
Sumatra: Sibolga
11 Nov 1852 · 188 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.