Reviewed by USGSIndia119y ago
M7.2 earthquake 64 km NNE of Sarupathar, India
Saturday, December 12, 1908, 12:54:55 UTC · 26.720°N, 97.117°E
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck 64 km NNE of Sarupathar, India on Saturday, December 12, 1908, 12:54:55 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.2
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
888 kilotons of TNT
That is about 59 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,862 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
3 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 2 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,136 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 278 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
23 Feb 1839 · 286 km away · intensity VIII
129 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
7 Feb 1839 · 286 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1902M5.5
Yunnan Province
Aug 1902 · 281 km away · intensity VII
6 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1906M5.3
Yunnan Province
May 1906 · 279 km away · intensity VII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1876M6.0
Yunnan Province
5 Aug 1876 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.