September 25, 1931 Earthquake: SW. Sumatra, Indonesia
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck SW. Sumatra, Indonesia on September 25, 1931 at 05:59:44 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 25, 1931
- Time
- 05:59:44 UTC
- Place
- SW. Sumatra, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 5.000° S, 102.750° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
Reference #414:
There was a strong earthquake with source between the islands of Enggano and Sumatra. On Enggano Island, a loud booming roar was heard from the south before the earthquake. Then strong tremors occurred, which were accompanied by weaker shocks. The huts on piles dug vertically into the ground were shifted about 1/2 m. In those huts whose floor was 1 m from the ground, the lower part of the piles fell away and the huts settled to the ground, without undergoing any other destruction. None of the huts collapsed, but accidents occurred among the population. It was impossible to walk during the strongest tremors; pedestrians were bowled over and could move only by crawling.
At other places, the earthquake did not cause destruction, but was felt on a large area, as far as Padang (more than 500 km from the epicenter) and Bandung (600 km). Apparently, one resident even noticed the earthquake at Pamekasan on Madura Island (1250 km).
On Enggano Island, as a result of the earthquake the sea became very rough.
Gutenberg, Richter (1954): 25.IX; 5h59m44s; 5o S., 102.75o E.; M=7.4.
Reference #1188:
Intensity VII-VIII.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 15, 1994, Southern Sumatera, Liwa, Lampung, Indonesia
- June 4, 2000, Bengkulu, Enggano, Sumatra, Indonesia
- September 12, 2007, Sumatra, Indonesia
- June 25, 1914, Sumatera, Indonesia
- December 15, 1979, S Sumatera, Indonesia
- September 9, 2008, Southern, Sumatra, Indonesia
- June 7, 2000, Lahat, Southern Sumatera, Indonesia
- 1770, Sumatra, Indonesia
- January 29, 1986, S, Hahat, Muaraenim, Sumatera, Indonesia
- April 21, 1958, Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
- October 10, 1896, SW. Sumatra, Java, Indonesia
- March 18, 1818, Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
- June 25, 1933, S Sumatera, Indonesia
- June 24, 1933, S Sumatera, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1931The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1931Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6320.