M7.0 earthquake 153 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia

Thursday, September 13, 2007, 03:35:28 UTC · 2.130°S, 99.627°E

A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 153 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Thursday, September 13, 2007, 03:35:28 UTC, at a depth of 22.0 km (shallow). USGS received 37 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.9 on September 12, 2007.

Magnitude: 7.0; Major · mwc
Depth: 22 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 37; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

477 kilotons of TNT

That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

93 km

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

Depth: shallow

22 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
Singapore, _no region, Singapore	III · Weak	26	604 km
Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	II · Weak	3	629 km
Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia	III · Weak	2	916 km
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia	IV · Light	1	608 km
Pekan Baru, Riau, Indonesia	III · Weak	1	359 km
Palembang, Sumatera Selatan, Indonesia	III · Weak	1	578 km
Duri, Riau, Indonesia	III · Weak	1	414 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 200 km

USGS lists 135 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on September 20, 2007. 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 299 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 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,511 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 268 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 299 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 247 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 201 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 206 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 217 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers