M6.2 earthquake 126 km SW of Singkil, Indonesia

Saturday, April 3, 1915, 13:42:51 UTC · 1.363°N, 97.121°E

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 126 km SW of Singkil, Indonesia on Saturday, April 3, 1915, 13:42:51 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on May 29, 1914.

Magnitude: 6.2; 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

35 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 72 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

61 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

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 5 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 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,543 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 230 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 266 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 179 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 258 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 99 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1892
Sumatra: Padangsidimpuan, Lake Toba
17 May 1892 · 293 km away · intensity VI
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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