Reviewed by USGSIndonesia19y ago
M4.5 earthquake 144 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia
Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 22:28:45 UTC · 2.220°S, 100.034°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 144 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Tuesday, October 9, 2007, 22:28:45 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on October 9, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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
60 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
35 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.8 on October 23, 2007. 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 389 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.4122 km SW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 288 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 100 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 174 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 139 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 250 km E of this epicenter
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 501 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 272 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 157 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 199 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 288 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 274 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 207 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.