M5.7 earthquake 99 km W of Banda Aceh, Indonesia

Saturday, May 13, 2006, 03:11:41 UTC · 5.521°N, 94.432°E

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 99 km W of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Saturday, May 13, 2006, 03:11:41 UTC, at a depth of 34.0 km (shallow). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on October 11, 2005.

Magnitude: 5.7; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 34 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 8; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: —; No ShakeMap
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

97 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

Depth: shallow

34 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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia	IV · Light	6	104 km
Bangkok, Bangkok, Thailand	III · Weak	1	1126 km

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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on June 7, 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 579 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 18 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 71 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1964M7.0
Banda Aceh
2 Apr 1964 · 146 km away · intensity VII
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1837M7.3
Banda Atjeh
29 Sep 1837 · 174 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1983M6.6
Sumatera: Banda Aceh
4 Apr 1983 · 39 km away · intensity VII
$1 million damage
1982M6.3
Little Nicobar Island
20 Jan 1982 · 165 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1997M6.0
N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan
20 Aug 1997 · 262 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers