M6.0 earthquake 89 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia

Friday, January 4, 2008, 07:29:18 UTC · 2.782°S, 101.032°E

A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 89 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Friday, January 4, 2008, 07:29:18 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). USGS received 8 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on November 25, 2007.

Magnitude: 6.0; Strong · mwc
Depth: 35 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 8; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: V; Moderate (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

15 kilotons of TNT

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

Tectonic setting

72 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

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	II · Weak	5	550 km
Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	IV · Light	1	219 km
Padang Panjang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	III · Weak	1	268 km
Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia	I · Not felt	1	1119 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 100 km

USGS lists 7 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on January 23, 2008. 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 584 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 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 315 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2000M7.9
Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano
4 Jun 2000 · 245 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 93 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 261 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 188 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 154 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 195 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

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

Nearby trackers