Reviewed by USGSIndonesia16y ago
M4.0 earthquake 119 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia
Saturday, January 16, 2010, 18:33:27 UTC · 1.501°S, 99.426°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 119 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia on Saturday, January 16, 2010, 18:33:27 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
132 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
10 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 lists 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on February 14, 2010. 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 483 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 · 201 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 179 km E of this epicenter
- 7.630 km WSW of Pariaman, IndonesiaSeptember 30, 2009 · 100 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 189 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 238 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.2164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaFebruary 25, 2008 · 125 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 245 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 108 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 28 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,069 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2009M7.5
Sumatra: Padang
30 Sep 2009 · 100 km away
1,117 deaths$2.2 billion damagetsunami
- 1861M8.5
Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I
16 Feb 1861 · 221 km away · intensity IX
1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 231 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2010M7.8
Sumatra
25 Oct 2010 · 233 km away
431 deaths$39 million damagetsunami
- 1797M8.0
Sw. Sumatra
10 Feb 1797 · 174 km away · intensity IX
300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 1995M6.8
Sumatera, Jambi Province
6 Oct 1995 · 231 km away
84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.