M7.2 earthquake 164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia

Monday, February 25, 2008, 08:36:33 UTC · 2.486°S, 99.972°E

A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Monday, February 25, 2008, 08:36:33 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). USGS received 83 “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: 7.2; Major · mwc
Depth: 25 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 83; 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

951 kilotons of TNT

That is about 63 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,995 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

30 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

25 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	62	601 km
Pekan Baru, Riau, Indonesia	II · Weak	3	374 km
Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia	II · Weak	3	644 km
Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	IV · Light	2	176 km
Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia	III · Weak	2	608 km
Curup, Bengkulu, Indonesia	IV · Light	1	304 km
Duri, Riau, Indonesia	III · Weak	1	437 km
Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	III · Weak	1	654 km
Georgetown, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia	II · Weak	1	869 km
Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia	I · Not felt	1	864 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 27 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.7 on February 25, 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 430 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 20 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 · 297 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 170 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 229 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 267 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 260 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 237 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers