Reviewed by USGSIndia80y ago
M6.0 earthquake 81 km NNE of Joshīmath, India
Tuesday, August 19, 1947, 20:07:10 UTC · 31.182°N, 80.013°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 81 km NNE of Joshīmath, India on Tuesday, August 19, 1947, 20:07:10 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on June 4, 1945.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- 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
15 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 31 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
197 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 18 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.021 km SE of Dārchulā, NepalAugust 28, 1916 · 180 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8212 km ENE of Burang, ChinaOctober 17, 1944 · 293 km E of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 37 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.573 km E of Burang, ChinaMarch 6, 1913 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.458 km NE of Bāgeshwar, IndiaJune 4, 1945 · 102 km S of this epicenter
- 6.014 km W of Dhārchula, IndiaMarch 5, 1935 · 155 km S of this epicenter
- 6.062 km SSE of Burang, ChinaApril 30, 1937 · 207 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.926 km NNE of Dadeldhurā, NepalDecember 24, 1916 · 195 km S 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:
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 99 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 162 km away
- 1833M7.5
Lohughar
30 May 1833 · 198 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.