M5.9 earthquake 42 km NW of Sinabang, Indonesia

Tuesday, January 31, 2006, 19:15:51 UTC · 2.703°N, 96.073°E

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 42 km NW of Sinabang, Indonesia on Tuesday, January 31, 2006, 19:15:51 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.5 on November 19, 2005.

Magnitude: 5.9; Moderate · mwb
Depth: 20 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

11 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

47 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

20 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 75 km

USGS lists 18 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on February 13, 2006. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 485 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 19 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 · 67 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 60 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 134 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 182 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 14 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1990M6.8
N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane
15 Nov 1990 · 204 km away
1 death$2 million damage

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

Nearby trackers