QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago

M4.6 earthquake 153 km WSW of Bengkulu, Indonesia

Friday, March 21, 2008, 05:26:50 UTC · 4.255°S, 100.957°E

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 153 km WSW of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Friday, March 21, 2008, 05:26:50 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.2 on March 16, 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 earthquake

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

80 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian 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 737 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.4122 km SW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 50 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 182 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 136 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 173 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 80 km E of this epicenter
  6. 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 184 km E of this epicenter
  7. 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 209 km NE of this epicenter
  8. 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 183 km SE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 243 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2000M7.9

    Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano

    4 Jun 2000 · 136 km away · intensity VI

    103 deaths$6 million damage

  2. 1995M6.8

    Sumatera, Jambi Province

    6 Oct 1995 · 251 km away

    84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  3. 2007M8.4

    Sumatra

    12 Sep 2007 · 50 km away

    25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1914M7.6

    Sumatera

    25 Jun 1914 · 103 km away

    20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1979M6.6

    S Sumatera

    15 Dec 1979 · 222 km away

    8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 2008M5.4

    Sumatra: Southern

    9 Sep 2008 · 236 km away

    2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

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