QuakeScout
Magnitude4.3

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago

M4.3 earthquake 186 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia

Friday, April 29, 2005, 19:06:09 UTC · 7.278°N, 94.364°E

A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 186 km NW of Sabang, Indonesia on Friday, April 29, 2005, 19:06:09 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area

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

32 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.2 on April 29, 2005. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

M3M41h6h1d3d7d14d30dMainshock M4.3
Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.
  1. 4.2212 km NNW of Sabang, Indonesia21y ago · 28 km N of this epicenter

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 538 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.2284 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaDecember 26, 2004 · 160 km W of this epicenter
  2. 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 74 km SW of this epicenter
  3. 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 228 km S of this epicenter
  4. 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 177 km S of this epicenter
  6. 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 101 km W of this epicenter
  7. 6.720 km SSW of Sigli, IndonesiaJuly 23, 1945 · 286 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 6.63 km ESE of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 30, 1942 · 190 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1936M7.3

    Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe

    23 Aug 1936 · 136 km away · intensity VIII

    9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  2. 1881M7.9

    Andaman I,Nicobar I

    31 Dec 1881 · 254 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1964M7.0

    Banda Aceh

    2 Apr 1964 · 213 km away · intensity VII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1837M7.3

    Banda Atjeh

    29 Sep 1837 · 268 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 1983M6.6

    Sumatera: Banda Aceh

    4 Apr 1983 · 177 km away · intensity VII

    $1 million damage

  6. 1982M6.3

    Little Nicobar Island

    20 Jan 1982 · 54 km away · intensity VIII

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers

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