M5.2 earthquake 10 km SW of Padang, Indonesia
A magnitude 5.2 earthquake struck 10 km SW of Padang, Indonesia on Fri, Nov 13, 1981, 2:27 AM GMT+7 (19:27 UTC), 54 km (34 mi) below the surface.
A larger quake followed: M5.4 southern Sumatra, Indonesia. This one was a foreshock.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 5.2 (mb, body-wave), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1981-11-12 19:27:47 UTC
- Depth
- 54.4 km (33.8 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 1.012° S, 100.285° E
- Region
- Indonesia
- Strongest shaking
- IV, light shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | mb, body-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 40 stations |
| 5.48 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.5 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
Slight damage at Padang.
From the USGS event page for usp0001gxt. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- IV, light shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 1.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- -0.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.2 and up: 2 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayIndonesia earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001gxt (also filed as gcmtb111281b, gcmt19811112192747, iscgem608582). Read Thu, Oct 1, 2026, 6:31 PM UTC.