Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.7 earthquake 101 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia
Monday, March 31, 2008, 16:37:59 UTC · 2.932°S, 101.117°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 101 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, Indonesia on Monday, March 31, 2008, 16:37:59 UTC, at a depth of 63.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on March 31, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 64 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
136 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the North Andes and South American plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
64 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on April 27, 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 661 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 · 170 km S of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 46 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 226 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 223 km N of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 26 km N of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 133 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 252 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 120 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 25 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 315 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2000M7.9
Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano
4 Jun 2000 · 226 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 105 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 280 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 170 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 135 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 182 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.