Many estimates have been made for the epicentre of this earthquake . Most of the early estimates of the location place it in the outer rise of the subducting plate rather than on the plate interface . Such earthquakes can generate tsunamis , but are highly unlikely to be tsunami earthquakes . More recent estimates give a range of epicentres , including some located on a shallow part of the megathrust , although the uncertainties remain large . Martin et al. ( 2019 ) give their preferred location as just west of Simeulue , coincident with a major barrier to rupture propagation along the megathrust caused by a ridge associated with a fracture zone on the subducting plate . This location is in a similar part of the megathrust as the epicentre of the 2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake
2010 Mentawai tsunami earthquake
2010 Mentawai earthquake and tsunami
1907 Sumatra earthquake