QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago

M4.3 earthquake 276 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia

Thursday, February 17, 2005, 01:50:19 UTC · 6.446°N, 92.877°E

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 276 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia on Thursday, February 17, 2005, 01:50:19 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
4.3
Light · mb
Depth
30 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 tons of TNT

That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

56 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

30 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 487 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.2284 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaDecember 26, 2004 · 52 km N of this epicenter
  2. 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 118 km E of this epicenter
  3. 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 242 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 284 km E of this epicenter
  5. 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 219 km E of this epicenter
  6. 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 93 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 6.7off the west coast of northern SumatraJanuary 1, 2005 · 163 km SW of this epicenter
  8. 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 280 km E 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 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1936M7.3

    Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe

    23 Aug 1936 · 205 km away · intensity VIII

    9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1881M7.9

    Andaman I,Nicobar I

    31 Dec 1881 · 236 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1983M6.6

    Sumatera: Banda Aceh

    4 Apr 1983 · 219 km away · intensity VII

    $1 million damage

  4. 1982M6.3

    Little Nicobar Island

    20 Jan 1982 · 136 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  5. 2005M7.2

    Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands

    24 Jul 2005 · 181 km away

    Limited damage (under $1M)

  6. 1847

    Little Nicobar Island

    31 Oct 1847 · 132 km away · intensity X

    Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

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