Earthquakes are common in Sumatra as it lies at the convergent boundary where the Sunda Plate is subducting beneath the Indo-Australian Plate . The plates are converging obliquely at a rate of 60 mm per year and the right lateral component is accommodated by strike-slip faulting within Sumatra , mainly on the Great Sumatran fault . In 2004 , Sumatra was devastated by the Sumatra – Andaman earthquake and resulting tsunami that killed tens of thousands in the area and 230,000 people around the Indian Ocean . In 2009 , an earthquake near Padang on Sumatra killed more than 1,000 . In April 2012 , an 8.6-magnitude quake killed five people in Aceh
Sumatra – Andaman earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami
2013 Aceh earthquake