2013 Aceh earthquake
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On 2 July 2013, an earthquake struck the Indonesian island of
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
on 2 July with a
moment magnitude The moment magnitude scale (MMS; denoted explicitly with or Mw, and generally implied with use of a single M for magnitude) is a measure of an earthquake's magnitude ("size" or strength) based on its seismic moment. It was defined in a 1979 pape ...
of 6.1 and a maximum
Mercalli intensity The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS), developed from Giuseppe Mercalli's Mercalli intensity scale of 1902, is a seismic intensity scale used for measuring the intensity of shaking produced by an earthquake. It measures the eff ...
of VI (''Strong''). The
strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
earthquake killed at least 43 people and injured more than 2,500 others in the province of
Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
(on the northern end of Sumatra) where approximately 4,300 homes were damaged or destroyed.


Background

Earthquakes are common in Sumatra as it lies at the
convergent boundary A convergent boundary (also known as a destructive boundary) is an area on Earth where two or more Plate tectonics, lithospheric plates collide. One plate eventually slides beneath the other, a process known as subduction. The subduction zone can ...
where the
Sunda Plate The Sunda Plate is a minor tectonic plate straddling the Equator in the Eastern Hemisphere on which the majority of Southeast Asia is located. The Sunda Plate was formerly considered a part of the Eurasian Plate, but the GPS measurements have ...
is
subducting Subduction is a geological process in which the oceanic lithosphere is recycled into the Earth's mantle at convergent boundaries. Where the oceanic lithosphere of a tectonic plate converges with the less dense lithosphere of a second plate, the ...
beneath the
Indo-Australian Plate The Indo-Australian Plate is a major tectonic plate that includes the continent of Australia and the surrounding ocean and extends northwest to include the Indian subcontinent and the adjacent waters. It was formed by the fusion of the Indian an ...
. The plates are converging obliquely at a rate of 60 mm per year and the right lateral component is accommodated by
strike-slip In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
faulting within Sumatra, mainly on the
Great Sumatran fault The Indonesian island of Sumatra is located in a highly seismic area of the world. In addition to the subduction, subduction zone off the west coast of the island, Sumatra also has a large Fault (geology)#Strike-slip faults, strike-slip fault, th ...
. In 2004, Sumatra was devastated by the Sumatra–Andaman earthquake and resulting tsunami that killed tens of thousands in the area and 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean. In 2009, an earthquake near
Padang Padang () is the capital and largest city of the Indonesian province of West Sumatra. With a Census population of 1,015,000 as of 2022, it is the 16th most populous city in Indonesia and the most populous city on the west coast of Sumatra. Th ...
on Sumatra killed more than 1,000. In April 2012, an 8.6-magnitude quake killed five people in Aceh.


Earthquake characteristics

At 2:37pm local time (07:37 UTC) on 2 July 2013, a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck at a depth of with an
epicenter The epicenter, epicentre () or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Surface damage Before the instrumental pe ...
near Sumatra's northwestern tip, south of Bireun. The quake lasted approximately 15 seconds and was felt from regional capital
Banda Aceh Banda Aceh ( Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'', Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had ...
to Bener Meriah. The quake was powerful enough to cause concern in
Banda Aceh Banda Aceh ( Acehnese: ''Banda Acèh'', Jawoë: كوتا بند اچيه) is the capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra and has an elevation of . The city covers an area of and had ...
, from the epicenter, and shaking was felt as far as
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
. At least fifteen aftershocks occurred, with three powerful ones registering magnitudes of 4.3, 5.5 and 5.2. The earthquake had a strike-slip mechanism involving either left lateral slip on a SW-NE trending fault or right lateral slip on a NW-SE trending fault. Analysis of the aftershock distribution and
GPS The Global Positioning System (GPS), originally Navstar GPS, is a Radionavigation-satellite service, satellite-based radionavigation system owned by the United States government and operated by the United States Space Force. It is one of t ...
data highlighted two fault segments, the right lateral Pantan Terong segment and the previously unrecognised left lateral Celala segment, both forming part of the overall Great Sumatran fault system. The best-fit model indicates that the Celala segment was responsible for the earthquake, although aftershocks and some of the post-seismic slip occurred on the Pantan Terong segment.


Damage

As of 19 July, the official death toll stood at 43, with six people still missing. A further 2,532 people were injured. The
Bener Meriah Bener Meriah Regency ( id, Kabupaten Bener Meriah) is a regency in Aceh Special District, Indonesia. It is located on the island of Sumatra. The regency covers an area of 1,941.61 square kilometres and it had a population of 122,277 at the 2010 c ...
and
Central Aceh Central Aceh Regency ( id, Kabupaten Aceh Tengah) is a regency in Aceh Special Region (''Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam'') of Indonesia. It is located on Sumatra island. Formerly this regency covered a much larger area; in 1969, the Southeast Aceh Rege ...
districts were hardest hit by the quake. In Bener Meriah, eight deaths were reported. More than 100 people were hospitalized due to their injuries and 537 houses were badly damaged in the district. A further 252 houses suffered minor damage. Several hundred residents slept outdoors the night of 2 July, afraid to return to their homes for fear of aftershocks. "There were strong aftershocks last night and people didn’t want to go back home, so they stayed in the open overnight," commented an official, "but we don’t have enough tents". In Central Aceh, 35 deaths were reported. A
mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
collapse killed six children and trapped 14 others. Rescuers dug through the rubble throughout the night of 2–3 July, but did not locate any of the trapped children. Numerous landslides occurred in the district and 1,368 houses were destroyed. A further 2,135 houses suffered minor damaged. On 3 July, a local official commented "People are still frightened, especially after the aftershocks last night. Nobody dared to stay at home. Everyone slept on the roads or in car parks." The main hospital was overcrowded with patients, causing tents to be set up outside to handle the overflow.


Response

A government plane and helicopter were sent in to assist local police and soldiers in rescue efforts. Several roads were destroyed in the quake or blocked by landslides, hampering rescue efforts. Power and cell phone tower outages made communications difficult. Three truckloads of bottled water, food, and other supplies were dispatched to the region. The Aceh Disaster Mitigation Office said more help would be provided when they had better data on what was needed. On 3 July 40 billion
rupiah The rupiah (symbol: Rp; currency code: IDR) is the official currency of Indonesia. It is issued and controlled by Bank Indonesia. The name "rupiah" is derived from the Sanskrit word for silver, (). Sometimes, Indonesians also informally use the ...
(approximately US$4 million) was allocated for emergency relief efforts. A one-week emergency response period, which can be extended if necessary, was enacted in Bener Meriah. Five shelters were set up in Bener Meriah and 10 in Central Aceh.


See also

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List of earthquakes in 2013 This is a list of earthquakes in 2013. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time. This year was quite ...
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List of earthquakes in Indonesia __NOTOC__ This is an incomplete list of more recent recorded major earthquakes that have occurred within the boundaries of Indonesia. The determinants of the activity are indicated by the geology of the region, and the volcanic activity. Large nu ...


References


Further reading

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External links

* * {{Earthquakes in Indonesia
Aceh Aceh ( ), officially the Aceh Province ( ace, Nanggroë Acèh; id, Provinsi Aceh) is the westernmost province of Indonesia. It is located on the northernmost of Sumatra island, with Banda Aceh being its capital and largest city. Granted a s ...
Earthquakes in Sumatra 2013 disasters in Indonesia Earthquakes in Indonesia History of Aceh July 2013 events in Asia