M5.9 earthquake 86 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia

Sunday, November 25, 2007, 02:51:57 UTC · 2.808°S, 101.162°E

A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 86 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Sunday, November 25, 2007, 02:51:57 UTC, at a depth of 55.9 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on November 10, 2007.

Magnitude: 5.9; Moderate · mwc
Depth: 56 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

11 kilotons of TNT

That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 22 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

122 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

56 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	4	546 km
Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	III · Weak	2	231 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 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on November 29, 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 589 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 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 313 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2000M7.9
Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano
4 Jun 2000 · 236 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 90 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 268 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 183 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 144 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 181 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers