Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.5 earthquake 248 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia
Friday, March 25, 2005, 03:27:19 UTC · 7.544°N, 93.795°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 248 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia on Friday, March 25, 2005, 03:27:19 UTC, at a depth of 37.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on March 25, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 38 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
74 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
38 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on April 18, 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 527 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.2284 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaDecember 26, 2004 · 116 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 80 km S of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 274 km S of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 277 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 227 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 67 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 252 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6Nicobar Islands, India regionApril 7, 1973 · 274 km W 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:
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 189 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 185 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 279 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 227 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 70 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2005M7.2
Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands
24 Jul 2005 · 182 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.