M5.3 earthquake 156 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia

Monday, February 25, 2008, 13:33:51 UTC · 2.312°S, 99.971°E

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 156 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Monday, February 25, 2008, 13:33:51 UTC, at a depth of 35.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on February 25, 2008.

Magnitude: 5.3; Moderate · mb
Depth: 36 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: 75 km aftershock search area

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

1 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

50 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

36 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 75 km

USGS lists 15 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 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 434 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 · 279 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 165 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 211 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 283 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 273 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 219 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers