Reviewed by USGSIndonesia35y ago
M5.4 earthquake 194 km S of Pagar Alam, Indonesia
Thursday, February 6, 1992, 04:35:01 UTC · 5.775°S, 103.076°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 194 km S of Pagar Alam, Indonesia on Thursday, February 6, 1992, 04:35:01 UTC, at a depth of 36.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on February 6, 1992.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 37 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
158 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
37 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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on February 6, 1992. 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 448 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 253 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.548 km SW of Kotabumi, IndonesiaJune 24, 1933 · 184 km E of this epicenter
- 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 106 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0164 km SSW of Pagar Alam, IndonesiaFebruary 10, 1931 · 71 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0119 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaOctober 1, 1975 · 139 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.030 km WNW of Labuan, IndonesiaApril 1, 1943 · 281 km E of this epicenter
- 7.061 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaApril 8, 1971 · 182 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.850 km WSW of Labuan, IndonesiaJuly 3, 1954 · 279 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 28 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 248 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 278 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1770M7.0
Sumatra:
1770 · 147 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1986M5.0
Sumatera: S, Hahat, Muaraenim
29 Jan 1986 · 212 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M5.8
S Sumatera
25 Jun 1933 · 179 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1931M7.4
Sw. Sumatra
25 Sep 1931 · 93 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.