December 15, 1979 Earthquake: S Sumatera, Indonesia
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck S Sumatera, Indonesia on December 15, 1979 at 00:02:41 UTC, 33 km below the surface. It killed 8 people.
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
- December 15, 1979
- Time
- 00:02:41 UTC
- Place
- S Sumatera, Indonesia
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 3.299° S, 102.712° E
- Country
- Indonesia
The toll
- Deaths
- 8
- Injuries
- 162
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million); Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with its tsunami and other effects
- Houses destroyed
- 2,500
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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 4, 2000, Bengkulu, Enggano, Sumatra, Indonesia
- October 6, 1995, Sumatera, Jambi Province, Indonesia
- September 12, 2007, Sumatra, Indonesia
- June 25, 1914, Sumatera, Indonesia
- October 1, 2009, Kerinci, Southern, Sumatra, Indonesia
- September 9, 2008, Southern, Sumatra, Indonesia
- June 7, 2000, Lahat, Southern Sumatera, Indonesia
- October 10, 1896, SW. Sumatra, Java, Indonesia
- January 29, 1986, S, Hahat, Muaraenim, Sumatera, Indonesia
- March 18, 1818, Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
- September 25, 1931, SW. Sumatra, Indonesia
- April 21, 1958, Bengkulu, Sumatra, Indonesia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1979The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1979Recent 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 4866.