Magnitude 7.2 - OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA
2012 January 10 18:36:59 UTC
Earthquake Details
- This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.
Magnitude | 7.2 |
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Date-Time |
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Location | 2.452°N, 93.209°E |
Depth | 20.5 km (12.7 miles) |
Region | OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA |
Distances | 423 km (262 miles) SW of Banda Aceh, Sumatra, Indonesia 537 km (333 miles) SW of Lhokseumawe, Sumatra, Indonesia 951 km (590 miles) W of KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia 1789 km (1111 miles) WNW of JAKARTA, Java, Indonesia |
Location Uncertainty | horizontal +/- 13.1 km (8.1 miles); depth +/- 4.8 km (3.0 miles) |
Parameters | NST=440, Nph=453, Dmin=502.1 km, Rmss=0.96 sec, Gp= 18°, M-type="moment" magnitude from initial P wave (tsuboi method) (Mi/Mwp), Version=B |
Source |
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Event ID | usc0007ir5 |
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Earthquake Summary
Tectonic Summary
The January 10, 2012 earthquake off the west coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, occurred as a result of strike-slip faulting within the oceanic lithosphere of the Indo-Australia plate, approximately 100 km to the southwest of the major subduction zone that defines the plate boundary between the Indo-Australia and Sunda plates offshore Sumatra. At the location of this earthquake, the Indo-Australia plate moves north-northeast with respect to the Sunda plate at a velocity of approximately 52 mm/yr.
While they are rare, large strike-slip earthquakes are not unprecedented in this region of the Indo-Australian plate. Since the massive M 9.1 earthquake that ruptured a 1300 km long segment of the Sumatran megathrust plate boundary in December of 2004, two Mw 6.2 strike-slip events have occurred within 50 km of the January 10 2012 event, on April 19 2006, and October 4 2007. These events seem to align with fabric of the sea floor in the diffuse boundary zone between the Indian and Australian plates.
Earthquake Maps
Scientific & Technical Information
- Preliminary Earthquake Report
- U.S. Geological Survey, National Earthquake Information Center:
World Data Center for Seismology, Denver