Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.6 earthquake 165 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia
Sunday, March 9, 2008, 09:16:23 UTC · 2.532°S, 99.981°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 165 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Sunday, March 9, 2008, 09:16:23 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on March 6, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 35 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
25 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
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 50 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on March 25, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 444 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.4122 km SW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 262 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 96 km E of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 207 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 136 km E of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 247 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 248 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaFebruary 25, 2008 · 5 km N of this epicenter
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 201 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 170 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 234 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 262 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 256 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 242 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1909M7.6
Sw Sumatra: Kerintji, Redjanglebong
3 Jun 1909 · 128 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.