Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.7 earthquake 205 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia
Saturday, April 19, 2008, 18:57:23 UTC · 2.578°N, 94.534°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 205 km W of Sinabang, Indonesia on Saturday, April 19, 2008, 18:57:23 UTC, at a depth of 19.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on April 13, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 20 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
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
18 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
20 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 435 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 291 km E of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 111 km E of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 60 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 174 km E of this epicenter
- 7.456 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 20, 2008 · 160 km E of this epicenter
- 7.040 km NE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaAugust 3, 1935 · 289 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.085 km SSE of Meulaboh, IndonesiaJune 20, 1976 · 218 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 231,412 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 179 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 111 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 291 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 174 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2008M7.4
Sumatera: Aceh Province
20 Feb 2008 · 160 km away
3 deaths
- 1997M6.0
N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan
20 Aug 1997 · 294 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.