Reviewed by USGSIndonesia50y ago
M4.7 earthquake 53 km NNW of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Sunday, June 27, 1976, 18:02:40 UTC · 4.561°N, 95.881°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 53 km NNW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Sunday, June 27, 1976, 18:02:40 UTC, at a depth of 165.0 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on June 24, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 165 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 earthquake
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
56 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: intermediate
165 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 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 92 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 · 213 km S of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 212 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 62 km E of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 138 km S of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 218 km S of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 151 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.860 km W of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 1908 · 224 km S of this epicenter
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 2,228 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 213 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 215 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 189 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 215 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 150 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 105 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.