Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M5.1 earthquake 146 km SW of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Saturday, November 22, 2008, 22:05:59 UTC · 4.610°S, 101.219°E
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck 146 km SW of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Saturday, November 22, 2008, 22:05:59 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on November 22, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 5.1
- Moderate · 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
674 tons of TNT
That is about 1/22 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
82 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 75 km
USGS lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on November 28, 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 728 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 · 25 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 225 km N of this epicenter
- 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 97 km E of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 211 km N of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 81 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 149 km E of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 225 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 137 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 243 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2000M7.9
Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano
4 Jun 2000 · 97 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 286 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 25 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 101 km away
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1979M6.6
S Sumatera
15 Dec 1979 · 221 km away
8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 2008M5.4
Sumatra: Southern
9 Sep 2008 · 217 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.