Reviewed by USGSIndonesia109y ago
M6.5 earthquake 63 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia
Sunday, September 22, 1918, 09:55:00 UTC · 1.457°S, 100.090°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 63 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Sunday, September 22, 1918, 09:55:00 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.6 on June 3, 1909.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (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
88 kilotons of TNT
That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 184 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
144 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American 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 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
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 · 292 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 284 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 202 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1909M7.6
Sw Sumatra: Kerintji, Redjanglebong
3 Jun 1909 · 118 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1833M8.3
Sumatra: Bengkulu
24 Nov 1833 · 125 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M6.5
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1861 · 11 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.