Reviewed by USGSIndonesia20y ago
M4.6 earthquake 104 km SSW of Singkil, Indonesia
Tuesday, August 8, 2006, 10:07:13 UTC · 1.371°N, 97.545°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 104 km SSW of Singkil, Indonesia on Tuesday, August 8, 2006, 10:07:13 UTC, at a depth of 80.2 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on August 6, 2006.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 80 km
- Intermediate
- 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
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
99 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: intermediate
80 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.8 on September 4, 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 474 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 · 276 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 93 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 267 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 199 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 229 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 141 km S of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 257 km N of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 263 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 233,791 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 276 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 267 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 93 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 264 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 160 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 222 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.