Reviewed by USGSIndonesia16y ago
M5.4 earthquake 77 km SSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 12:17:47 UTC · 3.498°N, 95.845°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 77 km SSW of Meulaboh, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 12:17:47 UTC, at a depth of 40.5 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on May 9, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 41 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
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
41 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Cocos and Nazca plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
41 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 660 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 9.12004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands EarthquakeDecember 26, 2004 · 27 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 211 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 97 km S of this epicenter
- 7.875 km E of Sinabang, IndonesiaApril 6, 2010 · 182 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 217 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 80 km S of this epicenter
- 7.456 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 20, 2008 · 82 km S of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SSW of Meulaboh, IndonesiaMay 9, 2010 · 34 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 231,444 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 27 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 97 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 211 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 184 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 275 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 80 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.