Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.8 earthquake 163 km SW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia
Wednesday, May 18, 2005, 06:25:40 UTC · 0.286°N, 98.277°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 163 km SW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 18, 2005, 06:25:40 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on May 16, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
133 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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 lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on May 28, 2005. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.6197 km SW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia21y ago · 34 km SW of this epicenter
- 4.6170 km SSW of Sibolga, Indonesia21y ago · 40 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.8141 km SW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia21y ago · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 4.3148 km SSW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia21y ago · 37 km E of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 361 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 239 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 63 km S of this epicenter
- 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 30 km W of this epicenter
- 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 143 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0122 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaMay 8, 1946 · 140 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0102 km SW of Padangsidempuan, IndonesiaFebruary 4, 1971 · 64 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.9181 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaDecember 4, 1974 · 50 km W of this epicenter
- 6.7214 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaMay 29, 1914 · 81 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 3,681 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 239 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 167 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 44 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 86 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 277 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1987M6.6
Sumatera: N, Tarutung-Lake Toba,
25 Apr 1987 · 227 km away
2 deaths$1 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.