Reviewed by USGSIndonesia18y ago
M5.7 earthquake 168 km W of Bengkulu, Indonesia
Thursday, December 11, 2008, 17:06:06 UTC · 3.649°S, 100.753°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 168 km W of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Thursday, December 11, 2008, 17:06:06 UTC, at a depth of 14.1 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on November 28, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 14 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
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
102 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Australian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
14 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on January 5, 2009. 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 752 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 · 111 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 114 km N of this epicenter
- 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 190 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 115 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 106 km E of this epicenter
- 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 231 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 184 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3161 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 25, 1931 · 246 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 22 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 · 190 km away · intensity VI
103 deaths$6 million damage
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 194 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2007M8.4
Sumatra
12 Sep 2007 · 111 km away
25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1914M7.6
Sumatera
25 Jun 1914 · 122 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 · 258 km away
2 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.