2008 Simeulue earthquake

On February 20, 2008, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 7.4 struck off the coast of Sumatra at a hypocentre depth of 26 km. The earthquake had an epicenter located on the island of Simeulue, northwest from Sinabang, a small town on the island. Three people were killed and an additional 25 seriously injured as a result of the earthquake.[1]

2008 Simeuleue earthquake
UTC time2008-02-20 08:08:30
ISC event
USGS-ANSSComCat
Local date20 February 2008
Local time02:28 WITA
Magnitude7.4 Mwc
Depth26.0 km
Epicenter2.768°S 95.964°E / -2.768; 95.964
FaultSunda megathrust
TypeThrust
Areas affectedAceh Province, Indonesia
TsunamiNone
ForeshocksYes
AftershocksYes
Casualties3 dead, 25 injured

Tectonic setting

The west coast of Sumatra is dominated by the Sunda megathrust; a 5,000 km long convergent boundary where the Australian Plate subducts beneath the Burma Plate and Sunda Plate at a rate of 60 mm/yr.[2] The subduction zone offshore Sumatra has been responsible for several large earthquakes in 2004 and 2005.[3]

Earthquake

The Simeulue earthquake occurred as a result of thrust faulting along the subduction zone where the Australian and Burma Plates meet.[4] It earthquake had an epcenter close to another magnitude 7.4 earthquake in 2002.[5] That was considered a foreshock of the 2004 event. The rupture patch for the 2008 event is located between the southern rupture area of the 2004 quake, and the northern rupture for another 2005 quake.[6] Prior to this quake, that section of the megathrust was considered a seismic gap that last ruptured in 1797. It was not considered an aftershock of neither the 2004 or 2005 earthquakes. During the earthquake in 2008, a circular rupture area with a diameter of 60 km broke and slipped for 2.2 meters at its maximum.[7]

Damage and casualties

Three people were reported killed and 25 suffered serious injuries from the quake.[8][9] The earthquake damaged many buildings in Simeulue due to the strong ground shaking. It was felt in northern Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, Singapore, and even Thailand. This caused many residents along the Sumatran coast to evacuate for fear of a tsunami.[10]

See also

References
  1. NCEI Global Historical Hazard Database. "Significant Earthquake Information INDONESIA: SUMATERA: ACEH PROVINCE". www.ngdc.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  2. Belle Philibosian Kerry Sieh Jean‐Philippe Avouac Danny H. Natawidjaja Hong‐Wei Chiang Chung‐Che Wu Hugo Perfettini Chuan‐Chou Shen Mudrik R. Daryono Bambang W. Suwargadi (2014). "Rupture and variable coupling behavior of the Mentawai segment of the Sunda megathrust during the supercycle culmination of 1797 to 1833". Journal of Geophysical Sciences. 119 (9): 7258–7287.
  3. Sieh, Kerry (2007). "The Sunda megathrust - Past, present and future" (PDF). Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 1: 1–19 – via California Institute of Technology.
  4. "M 7.4 - Simeulue, Indonesia". USGS-ANSS. 2008. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  5. "M 7.4 - Simeulue, Indonesia". earthquake.usgs.gov. 2002. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  6. "Crustal Deformation Observed by Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)". Geospatial Information Authority of Japan. 2008. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
  7. Paul M. Morgan Lujia Feng Aron J. Meltzner Eric O. Lindsey Louisa L. H. Tsang Emma M. Hill (2017). "Sibling earthquakes generated within a persistent rupture barrier on the Sunda megathrust under Simeulue Island". Geophysical Research Letters. 44 (5): 2159–2166.
  8. Louise Radnofsky and agencies (20 Feb 2008). "Three killed as earthquake rocks Indonesia". The Guardian. Retrieved 31 Jan 2021.
  9. "Indonesia: Red Cross responds to latest earthquake". 2008.
  10. "Three dead, 25 hurt in Indonesia quake". ABC News AUS. 2008. Retrieved 2021-01-31.
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