Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M4.2 earthquake 154 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia
Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 14:04:40 UTC · 1.674°S, 99.168°E
A magnitude 4.2 earthquake struck 154 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia on Tuesday, April 29, 2008, 14:04:40 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.2
- 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
30 tons of TNT
That is about 1/500 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 16 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
98 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 413 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 · 214 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 213 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 252 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaFebruary 25, 2008 · 127 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 126 km N of this epicenter
- 7.0153 km SSW of Padang, IndonesiaSeptember 13, 2007 · 72 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,518 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 200 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 228 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 187 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 255 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M6.4
Sumatra: Southern
6 Mar 2007 · 198 km away · intensity VIII
67 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2006M5.8
Sumatera: Northern, Muarasipongi
17 Dec 2006 · 267 km away
7 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.