Magnitude 7.8 - NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
2010 April 06 22:15:02 UTC
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
| Magnitude | 7.8 |
|---|---|
| Date-Time |
|
| Location | 2.360°N, 97.132°E |
| Depth | 31 km (19.3 miles) set by location program |
| Region | NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA |
| Distances | 200 km (125 miles) WNW of Sibolga, Sumatra, Indonesia 215 km (135 miles) SW of Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia 515 km (320 miles) W of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia 1425 km (880 miles) NW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia |
| Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 4.8 km (3.0 miles); depth fixed by location program |
| Parameters | NST=240, Nph=240, Dmin=317.9 km, Rmss=1.08 sec, Gp= 29°, M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=7 |
| Source |
|
| Event ID | us2010utc5 |
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Earthquake Summary
Tectonic Summary
RELATIVE PLATE MOTIONS
The broad red vectors represents the motion of the Australia Plate relative to the Sunda Plate in the region. The motion of the Australia Plate is generally 50-66 mm/yr northward with respect to the Sunda Plate in the southern region, but diminishes to 40-50 mm/yr towards the north.
The Banyak Islands, Sumatra earthquake of April 6, 2010 occurred as a result of thrust faulting on or near the subduction interface plate boundary between the Australia-India and Sunda plates. At the location of this earthquake, the Australia and India Plates move north-northeast with respect to the Sunda plate at a velocity of approximately 60-65 mm/yr. On the basis of the currently available fault mechanism information and earthquake depth, it is likely that this earthquake occurred along the plate interface.
The subduction zone surrounding the immediate region of this event last slipped during the Mw 8.6 earthquake of March 2005, and today's event appears to have occurred within the rupture zone of that earthquake. Today's earthquake is the latest in a sequence of large ruptures along the Sunda megathrust, including two M 7.4 earthquakes beneath Simeulue 125 km to the north in 2002 and 2008; a M 9.1 earthquake that ruptured to within 125 km north of this earthquake in 2004; a M 8.5 375 km to the south in 2007; and a M 7.5 260 km to the south near Padang in 2009.
Seismic Hazard Poster of Western Indonesia: JPG | PDF
Earthquake Maps
Scientific & Technical Information
Tsunami Information
The earthquake locations and magnitudes cited in NOAA tsunami statements and bulletins are preliminary and are superseded by USGS locations and magnitudes computed using more extensive data sets.
NOAA Tsunami Bulletins for this Earthquake
No Bulletins have been issued at this time.
General Tsunami Information
- Preliminary Earthquake Report
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver
