Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.6 earthquake 147 km W of Sabang, Indonesia
Friday, April 1, 2005, 14:53:16 UTC · 5.779°N, 93.985°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 147 km W of Sabang, Indonesia on Friday, April 1, 2005, 14:53:16 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on March 31, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
117 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma 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 534 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 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 117 km N of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 99 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 146 km E of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 82 km E of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 149 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 195 km S of this epicenter
- 6.77 km SSE of Reuleuet, IndonesiaApril 12, 1967 · 266 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 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 · 87 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 190 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 225 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 82 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 130 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 176 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.