Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.4 earthquake 186 km W of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 02:08:16 UTC · 4.065°N, 94.446°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 186 km W of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Wednesday, March 9, 2005, 02:08:16 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- 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
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
130 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 374 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 · 191 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 195 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 225 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 220 km E of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 221 km E of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 275 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 136 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 230,099 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 191 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 195 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 228 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 228 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 247 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 235 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.