Great Sumatran Fault
Sumatra, Indonesia · continental transform · 2256.6 km of mapped active fault in 19 traces
background as of 7 November 2026.
consistent with baseline
| Window | the last 30.0 days |
|---|---|
| Earthquakes counted | 0 at M4.5 or above |
| Expected in that window | 0.82 |
What this system normally does
From 1995 to 2025 the catalogue holds 300 earthquakes of M4.5 or larger attributable to this system: about 10.00 a year. That figure is what "elevated" on this page is measured against.
The fault itself
| Mapped length | 2256.6 km |
|---|---|
| Traces | 19 |
| Tectonic setting | continental transform |
| Slip types | Dextral |
| Depth attributed to it | down to 50.0 km |
| Extent | -7.09 to 5.91 latitude, 95.09 to 105.32 longitude |
Recorded history
NOAA's hazard records hold 25 significant earthquakes and 2 tsunamis attributed to this system since 1909.
The deadliest was the 26 December 2004 magnitude 9.1 earthquake (Indonesia: Sumatra: Aceh: off West Coast), which killed 227,899 people.
The most recent entry is the 17 March 2025 magnitude 5.4 earthquake (Indonesia: N Sumatera: Tapanuli), which killed one person.
Across the entries that record a death toll, 228,361 people died.
| Date | What | Where | Toll |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26 December 2004 | tsunami (waves to 50.9 m) | off W. Coast of Sumatra | 227,899 dead, $10,000 million damage |
| 26 December 2004 | magnitude 9.1 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra: Aceh: off West Coast | 227,899 dead, $10,000 million damage |
| 15 February 1994 | magnitude 6.9 earthquake | Indonesia: Southern Sumatera, Liwa, Lampung | 207 dead, 6,000 homes destroyed, $170 million damage |
| 6 October 1995 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatera, Jambi Province | 84 dead, 17,600 homes destroyed, damage over $25 million |
| 6 March 2007 | magnitude 6.4 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra: Southern | 67 dead, 43,719 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 2 July 2013 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Indonesia: Banda Aceh | 48 dead, 20,401 homes destroyed, $113 million damage |
| 25 February 2022 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Indonesia: W Sumatra: Pasaman, West Pasaman | 27 dead, 103 homes destroyed, $1 million damage |
| 15 December 1979 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Indonesia: S Sumatera | 8 dead, 2,500 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 17 December 2006 | magnitude 5.8 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatera: Northern, Muarasipongi | 7 dead, 680 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 1 October 2009 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra: Southern: Kerinci | 3 dead, $10 million damage |
| 25 April 1987 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatera: N, Tarutung-lake Toba, | 2 dead, 300 homes destroyed, $1 million damage |
| 30 September 2022 | magnitude 5.9 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra | 2 dead, 1,323 homes destroyed, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 9 September 2008 | magnitude 5.4 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra: Southern | 2 dead, damage $1 to 5 million |
| 15 November 1990 | magnitude 6.8 earthquake | Indonesia: N Sumatera, Blangkejeren, Kutacane | 1 dead, $2 million damage |
| 21 January 2013 | magnitude 6.1 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatera: N | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 17 March 2025 | magnitude 5.4 earthquake | Indonesia: N Sumatera: Tapanuli | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 22 October 2013 | magnitude 5.4 earthquake | Indonesia: Banda Aceh | 1 dead, damage under $1 million |
| 21 July 2018 | magnitude 5.2 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatra: Solok | 1 dead, 2 homes destroyed, damage under $1 million |
| 9 June 1943 | magnitude 7.6 earthquake | Indonesia: S Sumatera | - |
| 3 June 1909 | magnitude 7.6 earthquake | Indonesia: Sw Sumatra: Kerintji, Redjanglebong | damage $5 to 25 million |
| 24 June 1933 | magnitude 7.5 earthquake | Indonesia: S Sumatera | - |
| 14 January 2022 | magnitude 6.6 earthquake | Indonesia: Pandeglang, Banten | 395 homes destroyed, damage $5 to 25 million |
| 2 June 1948 | magnitude 6.2 earthquake | Indonesia: off Northwest Coast | - |
| 20 August 1997 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Indonesia: N. Sumatera, Aceh, Banda Aceh, Medan | damage $1 to 5 million |
| 8 March 1977 | magnitude 6.0 earthquake | Indonesia: Sumatera, Sinurat, Talu | damage under $1 million |
These are the 25 deadliest and largest of 27 entries. A dash means NOAA recorded no number, not that nobody died. Older entries are fewer because fewer were written down, not because less happened.
Recorded history: NOAA NCEI hazard databases, public domain, retrieved 2026-10-22.
Who to listen to if you live here
BMKG, Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency is the agency that tells people on this system what to do. https://www.bmkg.go.id/gempabumi (in Indonesian)
Where these numbers come from
Fault geometry, length and segment counts: GEM Global Active Faults Database (GEM GAF-DB), GEM Foundation, https://github.com/GEMScienceTools/gem-global-active-faults Licence: CC-BY-SA-4.0. Figures derived from it here are offered under the same licence. Earthquake counts, magnitudes and depths: United States Geological Survey, public domain. The activity judgement is ours, computed from those two inputs, and is not a statement by either agency.