The deadliest earthquake in Aceh since 2005 and in Sumatra since 2010, killing 104 people in Pidie Jaya Regency on 7 December 2016.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 6.5 Mw
- Depth
- 13 km
- Death toll
- 104 people
- Injured
- at least 1,000 people
- Epicentre
- Near Reuleut village, Pidie Jaya Regency
- Distance from Banda Aceh
- 164 km
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A shallow tectonic rupture at a depth of only 13 km beneath Pidie Jaya Regency in Aceh province generated intense ground shaking. The region sits within one of the world's most seismically active zones, where the Indo-Australian plate subducts beneath the Eurasian plate, making strong, shallow earthquakes a recurring hazard.
On 7 December 2016 at 05:03 local time, a magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck near the village of Reuleut in Pidie Jaya Regency, Aceh, approximately 164 km southeast of the provincial capital Banda Aceh. Classified as a strong, shallow earthquake, the shock was widely felt across the province and caused significant structural damage to buildings.
The earthquake killed 104 people and injured at least 1,000 others, making it the deadliest event of its kind in Aceh since the 2005 Nias–Simeulue earthquake and the deadliest in Sumatra since the 2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami. Emergency response and rescue operations were launched across Pidie Jaya Regency in the immediate aftermath.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 104 (earthquake)