The Sunda megathrust is curviplanar, forming an arc in map view and, at least in Sumatra, increasing in dip from 5°-7° near the trench, then increasing gradually from 15°-20° beneath the Mentawai Islands to about 30° below the coastline of Sumatra.
At this plate boundary, earthquakes occur along the Sunda megathrust and within both the subducting and overriding plates. The largest earthquakes are generated when the megathrust itself ruptures. Studies of both recent and historical earthquakes show that the megathrust is segmented. The largest earthquakes occur on separate 'patches' along the megathrust surface (1797, 1833, 1861, 2004, 2005 & 2007), with smaller events occurring at the boundaries between these patches (1935, 1984, 2000 & 2002). The rupture area of the 1861 event appears to be very similar to that for the 2005 event, suggesting that it can be regarded as a repeat event. The 2007 event is interpreted to be a partial failure of the rupture area of the 1833 event.
The 2004 earthquake ruptured an enormous segment of the megathrust surface. Research into evidence for previous events of this size suggests that they are rare, with two candidate earlier events occurring soon after AD 1290–1400 and AD 780–990. The Java-Bali segment of the megathrust does not appear to be associated with great earthquakes, possibly due to mainly aseismic slip.
This table lists Sunda Megathrust quakes with magnitudes of 7 or greater, or any known to have caused deaths. Historic records before 2004 are incomplete.
Sieh, Kerry (March 2007). "The Sunda megathrust: past, present and future". Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 01 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1142/S179343110700002X. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Chlieh, M.; Avouac J.P.; Sieh K.; Natawidjaja D.H.; Galetzka J. (2008). "Heterogeneous coupling of the Sumatran megathrust constrained by geodetic and paleogeodetic measurements" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 113 (B05305): B05305. Bibcode:2008JGRB..113.5305C. doi:10.1029/2007jb004981. Retrieved 2009-11-05. /wiki/Danny_Hilman_Natawidjaja
Sieh, Kerry (March 2007). "The Sunda megathrust: past, present and future". Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 01 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1142/S179343110700002X. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Sieh, Kerry (March 2007). "The Sunda megathrust: past, present and future". Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 01 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1142/S179343110700002X. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Sieh, Kerry (March 2007). "The Sunda megathrust: past, present and future". Journal of Earthquake and Tsunami. 01 (1): 1–19. doi:10.1142/S179343110700002X. /wiki/Doi_(identifier)
Monecke, K.; Finger W.; Klarer D.; Kongko W.; McAdoo B.G.; Moore A.L.; Sudrajat S.U. (2008). "A 1,000-year sediment record of tsunami recurrence in northern Sumatra". Nature. 455 (7217): 1232–1234. Bibcode:2008Natur.455.1232M. doi:10.1038/nature07374. S2CID 4420620. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
Newcomb, K.R.; McCann W.R. (1987). "Seismic history and seismotectonics of the Sunda Arc" (PDF). Journal of Geophysical Research. 92 (B1): 421–439. Bibcode:1987JGR....92..421N. doi:10.1029/JB092iB01p00421. Retrieved 2009-11-06. ftp://ftp.gps.caltech.edu/pub/avouac/Ge277-2007-fall/Newcomb_JGR1987.pdf
Kalashnikova Tamara. "Destructive historical tsunamis at the western coast of Sumatra, Tsunami Laboratory, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics Siberian Division Russian Academy of Sciences". Tsun.sscc.ru. Retrieved 2010-10-26. http://tsun.sscc.ru/tsulab/20041226tsun.htm
Kerry Sieh* (2006-08-15). "Sieh, K. 2006. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, 364 no. 1845 1947–1963". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 364 (1845): 1947–1963. Bibcode:2006RSPTA.364.1947S. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.694.6737. doi:10.1098/rsta.2006.1807. PMID 16844643. S2CID 8562675. /wiki/Kerry_Sieh
"George Pararas-Carayannis, The great earthquake and tsunami of 1833 off the coast of Central Sumatra in Indonesia". Drgeorgepc.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1833Indonesia.html
Kalashnikova Tamara. "Destructive historical tsunamis at the western coast of Sumatra, Tsunami Laboratory, Institute of Computational Mathematics and Mathematical Geophysics Siberian Division Russian Academy of Sciences". Tsun.sscc.ru. Retrieved 2010-10-26. http://tsun.sscc.ru/tsulab/20041226tsun.htm
"George Pararas-Carayannis, The great earthquake and tsunami of 1833 off the coast of Central Sumatra in Indonesia". Drgeorgepc.com. Retrieved 2010-10-26. http://www.drgeorgepc.com/Tsunami1833Indonesia.html
"Zachariasen, J., Sieh, K., Taylor, F.W., Edwards, R.L. & Hantoro, W.S. 1999. Submergence and uplift associated with the giant 1833 Sumatran subduction earthquake: Evidence from coral microatolls, Journal of Geophysical Research, Vol. 104, No. B1, Pages 895–919" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-10-26. http://www.tectonics.caltech.edu/sumatra/downloads/papers/P99a.pdf
Suleyman Nalbant; John McCloskey; Sandy Steacy; Mairead NicBhloscaidh; Shane Murphy (2013). "Interseismic coupling, stress evolution, and earthquake slip on the Sunda megathrust" (PDF). Geophysical Research Letters. 40 (16): 4204–4208. Bibcode:2013GeoRL..40.4204N. doi:10.1002/grl.50776. S2CID 59068187. https://pure.ulster.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/11389929/Nalbant.pdf
Pankaj Agrawal; Manish Shrikhande (2006). Earthquake resistant design of structures. PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. p. 60. ISBN 978-81-203-2892-1. 978-81-203-2892-1
"Research Group on The December 26, 2004 Earthquake Tsunami Disaster of Indian Ocean". Drs.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp. Archived from the original on April 12, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20100412163306/http://www-drs.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/sumatra/index-e.html
Martin S.S.; Li L.; Okal E.A.; Morin J.; Tetteroo A.E.G.; Switzer A.D.; Sieh K.E. (2019-03-26). "Reassessment of the 1907 Sumatra "Tsunami Earthquake" Based on Macroseismic, Seismological, and Tsunami Observations, and Modeling". Pure and Applied Geophysics. 176 (7): 2831–2868. Bibcode:2019PApGe.176.2831M. doi:10.1007/s00024-019-02134-2. hdl:10356/136833. ISSN 1420-9136. S2CID 135197944. /wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)
IISEENET (Information Network of Earthquake disaster Prevention Technologies). "Search Parameters". Retrieved 2009-11-04. http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/utsu/utsuweq_bak_eng.html
Rivera, L.; Sieh, K.; Helmberger, D.; Natawidjaja, D. (2002). "A Comparative Study of the Sumatran Subduction-Zone Earthquakes of 1935 and 1984" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 92 (5): 1721–1736. Bibcode:2002BuSSA..92.1721R. doi:10.1785/0120010106. Retrieved 25 November 2010. /wiki/Donald_V._Helmberger
IISEENET (Information Network of Earthquake disaster Prevention Technologies). "Search Parameters". Retrieved 2009-11-04. http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/utsu/utsuweq_bak_eng.html
IISEENET (Information Network of Earthquake disaster Prevention Technologies). "Search Parameters". Retrieved 2009-11-04. http://iisee.kenken.go.jp/utsu/utsuweq_bak_eng.html
"Magnitude 7.4 – SIMEULUE, INDONESIA". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20100115062956/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2008/us2008nran/#details
"Magnitude 7.2 – KEPULAUAN MENTAWAI REGION, INDONESIA". Archived from the original on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2015-10-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20100115063006/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2008/us2008nwbg/
"Magnitude 7.2 – NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA". Archived from the original on 2010-05-11. Retrieved 2015-10-01. https://web.archive.org/web/20100511053343/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2010/us2010wbaq/
"Magnitude 7.2 – OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 2012-01-13. https://web.archive.org/web/20120113063325/http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eqinthenews/2012/usc0007ir5/#details