M7.2 earthquake 284 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia

Sunday, December 26, 2004, 04:21:29 UTC · 6.910°N, 92.958°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 284 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia on Sunday, December 26, 2004, 04:21:29 UTC, at a depth of 39.2 km (shallow). USGS received 10 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of V (moderate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.

Magnitude: 7.2; Major · mwc
Depth: 39 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 10; Max intensity V
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

951 kilotons of TNT

That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

73 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

39 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Madras, Tamil Nadu, India	V · Moderate	2	1550 km
Phuket, Phuket, Thailand	IV · Light	2	609 km
Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia	III · Weak	1	832 km
Wattala, Gampaha, Sri Lanka	III · Weak	1	1444 km
Malé, Malé, Maldives	III · Weak	1	2177 km
Lampang, Lampang, Thailand	II · Weak	1	1445 km

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 200 km

USGS lists 372 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.4 on January 2, 2005. 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 219 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 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 212 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 188 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 235 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 115 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 91 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1955M7.3
Little Nicobar Island
17 May 1955 · 124 km away
tsunami

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

Nearby trackers