Reviewed by USGSIndia85y ago
M5.5 earthquake 166 km N of Bamboo Flat, India
Friday, October 30, 1942, 06:17:55 UTC · 13.184°N, 92.945°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck 166 km N of Bamboo Flat, India on Friday, October 30, 1942, 06:17:55 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on October 23, 1941.
- 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 1/6 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
108 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Burma 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 24 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.043 km N of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJune 26, 1941 · 126 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2112 km NE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJuly 4, 1917 · 90 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1290 km WSW of Dawei, MyanmarApril 11, 1935 · 294 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0114 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJune 27, 1941 · 60 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0119 km SW of Port Blair, IndiaMay 13, 1925 · 283 km S of this epicenter
- 6.097 km ESE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 11, 1914 · 208 km S of this epicenter
- 5.978 km S of Port Blair, IndiaJune 28, 1925 · 248 km S of this epicenter
- 5.845 km NNW of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJune 30, 1941 · 130 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1941M8.0
Andaman Islands,Madras; Sri Lanka: Colombo
26 Jun 1941 · 143 km away
Extreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.