Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.6 earthquake 246 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 13:01:21 UTC · 3.335°N, 94.061°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 246 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Tuesday, February 15, 2005, 13:01:21 UTC, at a depth of 23.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on February 15, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 23 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
47 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
23 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on February 21, 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 323 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 · 213 km E of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 179 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 154 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 232 km E of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 251 km E of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 281 km E of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 226 km N of this epicenter
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 230,090 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 213 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 179 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 232 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 275 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1997M6.0
N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan
20 Aug 1997 · 293 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1969M7.7
Off Nw Coast Sumatera
21 Nov 1969 · 150 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.