QuakeScout
Magnitude5.2

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia17y ago

M5.2 earthquake 173 km W of Bengkulu, Indonesia

Monday, January 5, 2009, 16:54:43 UTC · 3.528°S, 100.723°E

A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 173 km W of Bengkulu, Indonesia on Monday, January 5, 2009, 16:54:43 UTC, at a depth of 27.2 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on January 1, 2009.

Magnitude
5.2
Moderate · mwc
Depth
27 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

951 tons of TNT

That is about 1/16 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 2 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

107 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

27 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 725 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 8.4122 km SW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 124 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 101 km N of this epicenter
  3. 7.9103 km S of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 4, 2000 · 201 km SE of this epicenter
  4. 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 289 km N of this epicenter
  5. 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 104 km NE of this epicenter
  6. 7.573 km WSW of Bengkulu, IndonesiaJune 25, 1914 · 115 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.4102 km SSE of Bengkulu, IndonesiaFebruary 13, 2001 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
  8. 7.478 km NNW of Curup, IndonesiaJune 8, 1943 · 180 km NE of this epicenter

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 24 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 246 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 2000M7.9

    Sumatra: Bengkulu, Enggano

    4 Jun 2000 · 201 km away · intensity VI

    103 deaths$6 million damage

  2. 1995M6.8

    Sumatera, Jambi Province

    6 Oct 1995 · 183 km away

    84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

  3. 2007M8.4

    Sumatra

    12 Sep 2007 · 124 km away

    25 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 1914M7.6

    Sumatera

    25 Jun 1914 · 129 km away

    20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)tsunami

  5. 1979M6.6

    S Sumatera

    15 Dec 1979 · 222 km away

    8 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  6. 2009M6.6

    Sumatra: Southern: Kerinci

    1 Oct 2009 · 142 km away

    3 deaths$10 million damage

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

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