Reviewed by USGSIndonesia19y ago
M4.9 earthquake 77 km WNW of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Thursday, October 18, 2007, 10:01:11 UTC · 3.415°S, 101.685°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 77 km WNW of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Thursday, October 18, 2007, 10:01:11 UTC, at a depth of 39.4 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on October 13, 2007.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mwc
- Depth
- 39 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
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
200 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
39 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 M4.8 on October 22, 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 700 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 · 119 km S of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 128 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 152 km S of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 288 km N of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 96 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 67 km S of this epicenter
- 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 171 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 85 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 241 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2000M7.9
Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano
4 Jun 2000 · 152 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 155 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 119 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 59 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 115 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2000M6.7
Southern Sumatera: Lahat
7 Jun 2000 · 135 km away
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.