Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago
M4.3 earthquake in Nias region, Indonesia
Wednesday, April 19, 2006, 14:36:40 UTC · 1.699°N, 96.104°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck in Nias region, Indonesia on Wednesday, April 19, 2006, 14:36:40 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
20 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Australian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on May 17, 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 431 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 · 178 km N of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 120 km E of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 126 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 177 km W of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 125 km N of this epicenter
- 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 271 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 275 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 300 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 232,377 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 178 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 126 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 120 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 282 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 253 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 125 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.