Reviewed by USGSIndonesia16y ago
M4.6 earthquake 108 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia
Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 13:28:32 UTC · 4.606°N, 95.037°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 108 km SSW of Banda Aceh, Indonesia on Tuesday, May 11, 2010, 13:28:32 UTC, at a depth of 55.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on May 11, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 55 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
117 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
55 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 585 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 · 180 km SE of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 221 km S of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 230 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.456 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 20, 2008 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SSW of Meulaboh, IndonesiaMay 9, 2010 · 145 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.186 km WSW of Pangkalan Brandan, IndonesiaSeptember 19, 1936 · 300 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 279 km NW 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 230,134 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 180 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 221 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 300 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1967M6.1
N Sumatera,Malay Peninsula
12 Apr 1967 · 270 km away
14 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936M7.3
Banda Aceh,Lhok Sukon,Lhoksemawe
23 Aug 1936 · 170 km away · intensity VIII
9 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 230 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.