Reviewed by USGSIndia79y ago
M5.5 earthquake 14 km N of Tehri, India
Wednesday, May 5, 1948, 08:31:49 UTC · 30.518°N, 78.475°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 14 km N of Tehri, India on Wednesday, May 5, 1948, 08:31:49 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on August 19, 1947.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
49 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 17 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9The 1905 Kangra, India EarthquakeApril 4, 1905 · 274 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SE of Dārchulā, NepalAugust 28, 1916 · 232 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 272 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 186 km E of this epicenter
- 6.458 km NE of Bāgeshwar, IndiaJune 4, 1945 · 160 km E of this epicenter
- 6.014 km W of Dhārchula, IndiaMarch 5, 1935 · 198 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.081 km NNE of Joshīmath, IndiaAugust 19, 1947 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.062 km SSE of Burang, ChinaApril 30, 1937 · 296 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 19,000 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M7.9
Kangra
4 Apr 1905 · 274 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 73 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1720
Delhi
15 Jul 1720 · 193 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 249 km away
- 1833M7.5
Lohughar
30 May 1833 · 200 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.