M4.8 earthquake 49 km N of Sinabang, Indonesia

Tuesday, November 12, 2002, 17:46:30 UTC · 2.921°N, 96.332°E

A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 49 km N of Sinabang, Indonesia on Tuesday, November 12, 2002, 17:46:30 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on November 4, 2002.

Magnitude: 4.8; 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

239 tons of TNT

That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

25 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 lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on November 13, 2002. 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 236 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 2,211 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 93 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 145 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 29 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1987M6.6
Sumatera: N, Tarutung-Lake Toba,
25 Apr 1987 · 291 km away
2 deaths$1 million damage
1990M6.8
N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane
15 Nov 1990 · 166 km away
1 death$2 million damage
1843M7.3
Sw. Sumatra
5 Jan 1843 · 244 km away · intensity XI
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers