Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.4 earthquake 266 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Sunday, May 1, 2005, 10:41:06 UTC · 4.118°N, 93.390°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 266 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Sunday, May 1, 2005, 10:41:06 UTC, at a depth of 24.7 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 25 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
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
36 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
25 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 M4.8 on May 15, 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 299 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 286 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.975 km WSW of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaAugust 23, 1936 · 194 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.95 km W of Banda Aceh, IndonesiaApril 2, 1964 · 263 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.968 km WSW of Sabang, IndonesiaApril 4, 1983 · 232 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.899 km WNW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 26, 2005 · 279 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7171 km W of Meulaboh, IndonesiaDecember 9, 1929 · 132 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7off the west coast of northern SumatraJanuary 1, 2005 · 162 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,197 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 286 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 264 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 232 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
- 1969M7.7
Off Nw Coast Sumatera
21 Nov 1969 · 262 km away
- 1955M7.3
Little Nicobar Island
17 May 1955 · 273 km away
tsunami
- 1949M6.7
Banda Aceh
9 May 1949 · 204 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.