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You are here: Home » Earthquake Center » Latest Earthquakes -
World » Magnitude 8.4 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

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Magnitude 8.4 - SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

2007 September 12 11:10:26 UTC

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Earthquake Details

Magnitude

8.4

Date-Time

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:10:26 UTC

Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 06:10:26 PM at epicenter

Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones

Location

4.517°S, 101.382°E

Depth

30 km (18.6 miles) set by location program

Region

SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA

Distances

130 km (80 miles) SW of
Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
410 km (255 miles) SW of Jambi,
Sumatra, Indonesia
620 km (385 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java,
Indonesia
695 km (435 miles) SSW of SINGAPORE

Location
Uncertainty

horizontal +/- 9.4 km (5.8 miles); depth fixed by location
program

Parameters

Nst=175, Nph=175, Dmin=810 km, Rmss=1.44 sec, Gp=
40°,
M-type=moment magnitude (Mw), Version=A

Source

USGS NEIC
(WDCS-D)

Event
ID

us2007hear

This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.

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Earthquake Summary

Earthquake
Summary Poster

The following is a release by the United States Geological Survey, National
Earthquake Information Center: An earthquake occurred 130 km (80 miles) SW of
Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia and 625 km (390 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java,
Indonesia at 5:10 AM MDT, Sep 12, 2007 (6:10 PM local time in Indonesia). The
magnitude and location may be revised when additional data and further analysis
results are available. Earthquakes of this type sometimes cause tsunamis,
however the USGS has no information that an actual tsunami has been generated.
For information about tsunamis, contact the NOAA Tsunami Warning Centers at
http://tsunami.gov.

Felt Reports

At least 9 people killed, hundreds injured and many buildings damaged or
destroyed in the Bengkulu and Padang areas. A tsunami with a wave height of 90
cm was measured at Padang. Power and telephone outages occurred. Felt by people
in high-rise buildings at Jakarta and in Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

Tectonic Summary

The southern Sumatra earthquake of September 12, 2007 occurred as the result
of thrust faulting on the boundary between the Australian plate and the Sunda
plate. At the location of the earthquake, the Australia plate moves northeast
with respect to the Sunda plate at a velocity of about 69 mm/year. The direction
of relative plate motion is oblique to the orientation of the plate boundary
offshore of the west coast of Sumatra. The component of plate-motion
perpendicular to the boundary is accommodated by thrust faulting on the offshore
plate-boundary. Much of the component of plate motion parallel to the plate
boundary is accommodated by strike-skip faulting on the Sumatra fault, which is
inland on Sumatra proper.

The earthquake of September 12, 2007 is the fourth earthquake of magnitude
greater than 7.8 to have occurred in the past decade on or near the plate
boundaries offshore of western Sumatra. The September 12, 2007 earthquake
occurred just north of the source region of the magnitude 7.8 earthquake on June
4, 2000, which killed approximately 100 people. The great magnitude 9.1
earthquake of December 26, 2004, which produced the devastating Indian Ocean
tsunami of that date, ruptured much of the boundary separating the India plate
and the Burma plate. Immediately to the south of the great 2004 earthquake, the
magnitude 8.6 Nias Island earthquake of March 28, 2005, ruptured a segment of
the plate boundary separating the Australia and Sunda plates.

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Warning Center

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The earthquake locations and magnitudes cited in these bulletins are
very preliminary, and may disagree with the more accurate USGS locations and
magnitudes computed using more extensive data sets.

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