M7.0 earthquake 119 km S of Bengkulu, Indonesia

Wednesday, October 1, 1975, 03:29:58 UTC · 4.882°S, 102.198°E

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 119 km S of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Wednesday, October 1, 1975, 03:29:58 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.4 on June 8, 1943.

Magnitude: 7.0; Major · ms
Depth: 33 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 kilotons of TNT

That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

150 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

33 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 200 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on October 1, 1975. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 126 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 20 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 114 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 26 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 256 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 63 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1818M7.0
Sumatra: Bengkulu
18 Mar 1818 · 125 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1896M6.8
Sw. Sumatra, Java
10 Oct 1896 · 157 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers