Reviewed by USGSIndonesia51y ago
M4.7 earthquake 103 km SSE of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Friday, November 7, 1975, 09:25:07 UTC · 4.695°S, 102.526°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 103 km SSE of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Friday, November 7, 1975, 09:25:07 UTC, at a depth of 132.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on October 23, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 132 km
- Intermediate
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
191 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: intermediate
132 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 50 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on November 20, 1975. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 137 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 266 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 124 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 239 km E of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 210 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 69 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 10, 1931 · 74 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0119 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaOctober 1, 1975 · 42 km SW 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 20 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 116 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 67 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 222 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 42 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1818M7.0
Sumatra: Bengkulu
18 Mar 1818 · 138 km away · intensity IX
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1896M6.8
Sw. Sumatra, Java
10 Oct 1896 · 133 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.