Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.4 earthquake 218 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia
Saturday, April 16, 2005, 03:38:43 UTC · 6.384°N, 93.406°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 218 km WNW of Sabang, Indonesia on Saturday, April 16, 2005, 03:38:43 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
111 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian 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 524 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 · 77 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 71 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 191 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 228 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 163 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 72 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 282 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7off the west coast of northern SumatraJanuary 1, 2005 · 188 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 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 · 146 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 261 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 259 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 163 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 91 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2005M7.2
Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands
24 Jul 2005 · 217 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.