Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.3 earthquake 42 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Friday, March 18, 2005, 23:23:30 UTC · 5.262°N, 95.072°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 42 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Friday, March 18, 2005, 23:23:30 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
64 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
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 471 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 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 293 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2284 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaDecember 26, 2004 · 297 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 219 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 177 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 249 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 40 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 230,113 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 241 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 291 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 248 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 102 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 293 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 99 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.