QuakeScout
Magnitude3.7

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago

M3.7 earthquake 219 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia

Sunday, March 16, 2008, 21:41:51 UTC · 3.073°N, 94.465°E

A magnitude 3.7 earthquake struck 219 km WSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Sunday, March 16, 2008, 21:41:51 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).

Magnitude
3.7
Minor · 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 earthquake

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

5 tons of TNT

That is about 1/2,814 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 89 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

55 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Burma and Indian 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 486 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 170 km E of this epicenter
  2. 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 126 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 115 km S of this epicenter
  4. 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 182 km E of this epicenter
  5. 7.456 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 20, 2008 · 170 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 260 km NE of this epicenter
  7. 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 209 km E of this epicenter
  8. 6.928 km NNE of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 4, 1917 · 231 km E of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 230,093 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2004M9.1

    Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast

    26 Dec 2004 · 170 km away

    227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami

  2. 1907M8.2

    Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus

    4 Jan 1907 · 126 km away

    2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  3. 2002M7.3

    Sumatera: Simeulue

    2 Nov 2002 · 182 km away

    3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  4. 2008M7.4

    Sumatera: Aceh Province

    20 Feb 2008 · 170 km away

    3 deaths

  5. 1983M6.6

    Sumatera: Banda Aceh

    4 Apr 1983 · 296 km away · intensity VII

    $1 million damage

  6. 1997M6.0

    N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan

    20 Aug 1997 · 267 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers

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