Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.9 earthquake 259 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia
Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 14:01:40 UTC · 7.813°N, 93.978°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 259 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 26, 2005, 14:01:40 UTC, at a depth of 23.6 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on April 17, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mwc
- Depth
- 24 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
58 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
24 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 M4.6 on May 3, 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 520 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 · 151 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 110 km S of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 295 km S of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 291 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 246 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 103 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 263 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.6Nicobar Islands, India regionDecember 26, 2004 · 212 km NW 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 · 206 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 188 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 285 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 246 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 96 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 2005M7.2
Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands
24 Jul 2005 · 197 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.