QuakeScout
Magnitude4.5

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago

M4.5 earthquake 143 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Thursday, May 26, 2005, 00:56:27 UTC · 4.525°N, 94.528°E

A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 143 km SW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Thursday, May 26, 2005, 00:56:27 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on May 25, 2005.

Magnitude
4.5
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

85 tons of TNT

That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

164 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma 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 449 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 233 km SE of this epicenter
  3. 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 276 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 256 km SE of this epicenter
  5. 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 266 km N of this epicenter
  6. 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 209 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 235 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 299 km SE 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 230,099 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2004M9.1

    Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast

    26 Dec 2004 · 211 km away

    227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami

  2. 1907M8.2

    Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus

    4 Jan 1907 · 233 km away

    2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 1936M7.3

    Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe

    23 Aug 1936 · 176 km away · intensity VIII

    9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  4. 2002M7.3

    Sumatera: Simeulue

    2 Nov 2002 · 256 km away

    3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1964M7.0

    Banda Aceh

    2 Apr 1964 · 201 km away · intensity VII

    Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  6. 1837M7.3

    Banda Atjeh

    29 Sep 1837 · 196 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

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

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