Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.8 earthquake 147 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia
Friday, March 11, 2005, 08:00:50 UTC · 2.285°N, 95.066°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 147 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia on Friday, March 11, 2005, 08:00:50 UTC, at a depth of 29.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on March 9, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mwc
- Depth
- 29 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
22 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
29 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on March 11, 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 271 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 · 152 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 68 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 64 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 128 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 186 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 167 km E of this epicenter
- 6.9164 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 8, 1995 · 50 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 231,409 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 152 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 68 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 228 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 128 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1997M6.0
N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan
20 Aug 1997 · 280 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2005M6.7
Sumatra: Nias Island: Gunungsitoli
5 Jul 2005 · 230 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.