QuakeScout
Magnitude4.6

Reviewed by USGSIndonesia16y ago

M4.6 earthquake 115 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia

Sunday, February 14, 2010, 04:02:53 UTC · 1.444°S, 99.438°E

A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 115 km WSW of Padang, Indonesia on Sunday, February 14, 2010, 04:02:53 UTC, at a depth of 38.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on February 11, 2010.

Magnitude
4.6
Light · mb
Depth
39 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

120 tons of TNT

That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.

Tectonic setting

137 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

39 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 481 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

  1. 7.987 km SW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaSeptember 12, 2007 · 204 km SE of this epicenter
  2. 7.726 km S of Sijunjung, IndonesiaJune 9, 1943 · 176 km E of this epicenter
  3. 7.630 km WSW of Pariaman, IndonesiaSeptember 30, 2009 · 94 km NE of this epicenter
  4. 7.6212 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaDecember 28, 1935 · 186 km NW of this epicenter
  5. 7.676 km SSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaJune 3, 1909 · 240 km SE of this epicenter
  6. 7.2164 km WSW of Sungai Penuh, IndonesiaFebruary 25, 2008 · 130 km SE of this epicenter
  7. 7.1190 km SSW of Sibolga, IndonesiaNovember 17, 1984 · 241 km NW of this epicenter
  8. 7.095 km W of Pariaman, IndonesiaApril 1, 1998 · 102 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:

  1. 2009M7.5

    Sumatra: Padang

    30 Sep 2009 · 94 km away

    1,117 deaths$2.2 billion damagetsunami

  2. 1861M8.5

    Lagundi, Simuk, Tello I

    16 Feb 1861 · 221 km away · intensity IX

    1,105 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  3. 1861M7.0

    Sw. Sumatra

    9 Mar 1861 · 227 km away

    950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami

  4. 2010M7.8

    Sumatra

    25 Oct 2010 · 238 km away

    431 deaths$39 million damagetsunami

  5. 1797M8.0

    Sw. Sumatra

    10 Feb 1797 · 168 km away · intensity IX

    300 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami

  6. 1995M6.8

    Sumatera, Jambi Province

    6 Oct 1995 · 232 km away

    84 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)

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

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