[citation needed] The earthquake was centered under the ocean at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles).

[11] The epicenter of the earthquake was approximately 805 kilometers (500 miles) southwest of Padang, the capital of the province of West Sumatra;[12] the closest inhabited land to the epicenter was the Mentawai Islands, also part of West Sumatra.

With a magnitude of 5.2 and a depth of 123 miles, it was determined that this aftershock did not pose a tsunami risk.

[16] Initial reports of the earthquake and subsequent tsunami warnings caused many inhabitants of Sumatra and the surrounding regions to flee to higher ground.

[17] The head of Indonesia's Meteorology and Geophysics Agency, Andi Eka Sakya, stated that the "potential for a tsunami" was "very small", because the epicenter of the quake was not located along a major fault or subduction zone.