Reviewed by USGSIndia region62y ago
M6.3 earthquake in Nicobar Islands, India region
Tuesday, September 15, 1964, 15:29:35 UTC · 8.863°N, 93.066°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck in Nicobar Islands, India region on Tuesday, September 15, 1964, 15:29:35 UTC, at a depth of 45.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on May 17, 1955.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 45 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- V
- Moderate (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
44 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 92 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
103 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Sunda and Burma plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
45 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 43 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.0190 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaMay 17, 1955 · 243 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8238 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 20, 1917 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 6.6249 km NW of Sabang, IndonesiaMarch 5, 1921 · 174 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5253 km WNW of Sabang, IndonesiaNovember 21, 1907 · 258 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5171 km S of Port Blair, IndiaApril 19, 1936 · 144 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3273 km SSE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 21, 1916 · 80 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3267 km NNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1956 · 151 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.2Nicobar Islands, India regionAugust 12, 1915 · 230 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 80 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1847
Little Nicobar Island
31 Oct 1847 · 183 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)tsunami
- 1955M7.3
Little Nicobar Island
17 May 1955 · 282 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.