Reviewed by USGSIndonesia16y ago
M4.5 earthquake 68 km SE of Sinabang, Indonesia
Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 01:37:58 UTC · 1.974°N, 96.732°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 68 km SE of Sinabang, Indonesia on Wednesday, May 12, 2010, 01:37:58 UTC, at a depth of 38.8 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.4 on May 11, 2010.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
3 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.1 on May 17, 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 610 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 · 169 km NW of this epicenter
- 8.678 km WSW of Singkil, IndonesiaMarch 28, 2005 · 44 km E of this epicenter
- 8.2The 1907 Sumatra Earthquake and TsunamiJanuary 4, 1907 · 155 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.875 km E of Sinabang, IndonesiaApril 6, 2010 · 57 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.5209 km WSW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1969 · 243 km W of this epicenter
- 7.450 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaNovember 2, 2002 · 119 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.456 km NW of Sinabang, IndonesiaFebruary 20, 2008 · 123 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.245 km SSW of Meulaboh, IndonesiaMay 9, 2010 · 213 km N 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 232,383 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2004M9.1
Sumatra: Aceh: Off West Coast
26 Dec 2004 · 169 km away
227,899 deaths$10 billion damagetsunami
- 1907M8.2
Nw Sumatra: Gunungsitoli, Barus
4 Jan 1907 · 155 km away
2,188 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M8.6
Sumatera: Sw
28 Mar 2005 · 44 km away
1,319 deaths$37 million damagetsunami
- 1861M7.0
Sw. Sumatra
9 Mar 1861 · 260 km away
950 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1936
N Sumatera: Tapanuli, Karo
9 Sep 1936 · 190 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2002M7.3
Sumatera: Simeulue
2 Nov 2002 · 119 km away
3 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.