On Wednesday Morning a Shallow M5.5 Earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean 183km from Bengkulu (Indonesia).

Written by Earthquakelist.org on June 5th, 2024. Last updated June 29th, 2024.

A shallow and significant Magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in the Indian Ocean 183 kilometer from Bengkulu, Indonesia in the morning of Wednesday June 5th, 2024. Roughly 2.2 million people may have felt this earthquake.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake hit under water in the Indian Ocean, 42 kilometers (26 mi) off the coast of Indonesia, 183 kilometer west of Bengkulu. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 19 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jun 5, 2024 09:20 (Jakarta Time) - Jun 5, 2024 02:20 Universal Time.
Location:	183 km west of Bengkulu, Indonesia. Coordinates 3°40'36"S 100°37'15"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 17 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.075 .
Depth:	19 km (12 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VI Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 96% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls no higher than 10 million USD.

Roughly 2.2 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 2.2 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

An estimated 10 people were exposed to level V. At this level, moderate shaking and very light damage can be expected. The majority of people (roughly 2.1 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of Indonesia .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
30,880	II	Very weak	None
2,125,000	III	Weak	Probably none
12,330	IV	Light	Likely none
10	V	Moderate	Very light
0	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in Indonesia . Located 183 kilometer (114 mi) west of the epicenter of this earthquake, Bengkulu (Bengkulu, Indonesia) is the nearest significant population center. Bengkulu experienced an earthquake intensity (MMI Scale) of roughly III. That level implies weak shaking and probably no damage.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
183 km (114 mi) E from epicenter	Bengkulu Bengkulu, Indonesia.	III Weak
199 km (124 mi) NNE from epicenter	Sungai Penuh Jambi, Indonesia.	III Weak
212 km (132 mi) E from epicenter	Curup Bengkulu, Indonesia.
252 km (157 mi) E from epicenter	Lubuklinggau South Sumatra, Indonesia.
294 km (183 mi) E from epicenter	Pagar Alam South Sumatra, Indonesia.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The maximum intensity (MMI Scale) caused by this earthquake is V. The map below shows in which areas this earthquake was the most and least impactful. It is based on data from the US Geographic Survey.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. Just 4 hrs after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-5 was detected 11 km (7 mi) east-northeast of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.5	Jun 5, 2024 09:20 (Jakarta Time)	-
Aftershock	M 5.0	4 hrs later Jun 5, 2024 13:19 (Jakarta Time)	11 km (7 mi) ENE from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since April 15th, 2023, when a 5.5 magnitude earthquake hit 289 km (179 mi) further east-southeast. An even stronger magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck on November 18th, 2022.

In total, 34 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 4 months.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 19 km (12 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 29/06/24 02:38 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.