Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.5 earthquake 155 km SW of Padang, Indonesia
Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 01:46:03 UTC · 2.101°S, 99.552°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 155 km SW of Padang, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, 01:46:03 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.5 on April 8, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
97 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 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 398 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 155 km E of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 201 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 250 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 194 km E of this epicenter
- 7.2164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaFebruary 25, 2008 · 63 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0153 km SSW of Padang, IndonesiaSeptember 13, 2007 · 9 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 21 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,511 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 259 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 291 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 242 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 209 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 207 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2004M5.1
Sumatra: Padangpanjang
16 Feb 2004 · 219 km away
5 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.