QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia21y ago

M4.6 earthquake 168 km SSW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia

Sunday, August 21, 2005, 17:04:43 UTC · 0.086°N, 98.464°E

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 168 km SSW of Padangsidempuan, Indonesia on Sunday, August 21, 2005, 17:04:43 UTC, at a depth of 48.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on August 19, 2005.

Magnitude
4.6
Light · mb
Depth
48 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

120 tons of TNT

That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

141 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

48 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 388 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
  2. 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 298 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 47 km SW of this epicenter
  4. 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 50 km W of this epicenter
  5. 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 113 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.0122 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaMay 8, 1946 · 110 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.0102 km SW of Padangsidempuan, IndonesiaFebruary 4, 1971 · 67 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 6.9181 km SW of Sibolga, IndonesiaDecember 4, 1974 · 77 km NW of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 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:

  1. 2005M8.6

    Sumatera: Sw

    28 Mar 2005 · 269 km away

    1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami

  2. 1861M8.5

    Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I

    16 Feb 1861 · 161 km away · intensity IX

    1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1861M7.0

    Sw. Sumatra

    9 Mar 1861 · 52 km away

    950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1797M8.0

    Sw. Sumatra

    10 Feb 1797 · 60 km away · intensity IX

    300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  5. 2004M5.1

    Sumatra: Padangpanjang

    16 Feb 2004 · 251 km away

    5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

  6. 1987M6.6

    Sumatera: N, Tarutung-Lake Toba,

    25 Apr 1987 · 244 km away

    2 deaths$1 million damage

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

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