M6.2 earthquake 148 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia

Monday, March 3, 2008, 02:37:27 UTC · 2.180°S, 99.823°E

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 148 km SSW of Padang, Indonesia on Monday, March 3, 2008, 02:37:27 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 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 M6.7 on February 25, 2008.

Magnitude: 6.2; Strong · mwc
Depth: 25 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity III
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

30 kilotons of TNT

That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 63 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

64 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	4	591 km
Padang, Sumatera Barat, Indonesia	II · Weak	1	150 km
Banda Aceh, Aceh, Indonesia	I · Not felt	1	991 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 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.3 on March 6, 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 433 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 22 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,581 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 290 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 259 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 180 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 295 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 212 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers