M7.0 earthquake 85 km SSE of Meulaboh, Indonesia

Sunday, June 20, 1976, 20:53:13 UTC · 3.397°N, 96.318°E

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 85 km SSE of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Sunday, June 20, 1976, 20:53:13 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.5 on November 21, 1969.

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

27 km

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

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 32 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on June 21, 1976. 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 82 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 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,219 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 118 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 132 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 258 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 282 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 287 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 236 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers