Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.4 earthquake 285 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Monday, February 14, 2005, 10:40:54 UTC · 3.313°N, 93.689°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 285 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Monday, February 14, 2005, 10:40:54 UTC, at a depth of 27.6 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 28 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
13 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
28 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on March 9, 2005. 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 281 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 216 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 171 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 272 km E of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 292 km E of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9164 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1995 · 223 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 291 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 230,090 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 255 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 216 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 272 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 291 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1969M7.7
Off Nw Coast Sumatera
21 Nov 1969 · 169 km away
- 1949M6.7
Banda Aceh
9 May 1949 · 237 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.