Reviewed by USGSIndonesia31y ago
M4.4 earthquake 17 km N of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia
Friday, October 6, 1995, 19:21:01 UTC · 1.896°S, 101.367°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 17 km N of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Friday, October 6, 1995, 19:21:01 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
90 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on October 6, 1995. 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 219 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 117 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 93 km S of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 140 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0122 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaMay 8, 1946 · 291 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.061 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaApril 8, 1971 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8209 km SW of Padang, IndonesiaDecember 24, 1974 · 262 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 14 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 112 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 18 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 231 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 216 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1909M7.6
Sw Sumatra: Kerintji, Redjanglebong
3 Jun 1909 · 42 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1833M8.3
Sumatra: Bengkulu
24 Nov 1833 · 117 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1926M6.6
Sumatera
28 Jun 1926 · 217 km away · intensity IX
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.