Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago
M4.5 earthquake 121 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Saturday, February 18, 2006, 06:09:56 UTC · 4.518°N, 94.938°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 121 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Saturday, February 18, 2006, 06:09:56 UTC, at a depth of 44.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on February 15, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 45 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
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
132 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
45 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 M4.4 on March 8, 2006. 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 490 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 · 179 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 215 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 279 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 227 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 283 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 163 km E of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 267 km SE 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 230,114 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 179 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 215 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 284 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 178 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 227 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1990M6.8
N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane
15 Nov 1990 · 287 km away
1 death$2 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.