M6.6 earthquake 161 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia

Monday, February 25, 2008, 18:06:03 UTC · 2.332°S, 99.891°E

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 161 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Monday, February 25, 2008, 18:06:03 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). USGS received 10 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of IV (light). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on February 25, 2008.

Magnitude: 6.6; Strong · mwc
Depth: 25 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 10; Max intensity IV
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (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

120 kilotons of TNT

That is about 8 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 251 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

47 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	8	596 km
Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	IV · Light	2	163 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 14 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 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 436 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 · 278 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 175 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 215 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 286 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 278 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 224 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers