Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago
M4.8 earthquake 89 km WNW of Sinabang, Indonesia
Thursday, July 28, 2005, 02:43:59 UTC · 2.732°N, 95.619°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 89 km WNW of Sinabang, Indonesia on Thursday, July 28, 2005, 02:43:59 UTC, at a depth of 22.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on July 27, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mwc
- Depth
- 23 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
43 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Nazca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
23 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on August 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 457 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 74 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 11 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 142 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 53 km E of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 242 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 203 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 107 km NE 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 231,427 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 74 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 11 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 180 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 226 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 53 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1990M6.8
N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane
15 Nov 1990 · 242 km away
1 death$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.