Reviewed by USGSIndonesia50y ago
M4.5 earthquake 104 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia
Sunday, June 27, 1976, 01:54:57 UTC · 2.617°N, 95.446°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 104 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia on Sunday, June 27, 1976, 01:54:57 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on June 24, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
22 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 50 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
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:
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 12 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 119 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 265 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 223 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 130 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 119 km E of this epicenter
- 6.860 km W of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1908 · 45 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 194 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,205 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 12 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 248 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1969M7.7
Off Nw Coast Sumatera
21 Nov 1969 · 110 km away
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
26 Apr 1861 · 291 km away
tsunami
- 1861M6.8
Sw. Sumatra
17 Jun 1861 · 291 km away
tsunami
- 1949M6.7
Banda Aceh
9 May 1949 · 270 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.