M5.7 earthquake 79 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Thursday, March 17, 2005, 23:20:49 UTC · 4.863°N, 95.089°E

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 79 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Thursday, March 17, 2005, 23:20:49 UTC, at a depth of 60.4 km (shallow). USGS received 2 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on February 26, 2005.

Magnitude: 5.7; Moderate · mwb
Depth: 60 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 2; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: IV; Light (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

93 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

60 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia	IV · Light	1	100 km

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 75 km

USGS lists 20 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on April 16, 2005. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 441 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 230,114 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 201 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 248 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 255 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 144 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 252 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1990M6.8
N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane
15 Nov 1990 · 283 km away
1 death$2 million damage

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

Nearby trackers