Reviewed by USGSIndia86y ago
M5.7 earthquake 40 km ESE of Leh, India
Friday, January 10, 1941, 07:38:13 UTC · 34.079°N, 78.011°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 40 km ESE of Leh, India on Friday, January 10, 1941, 07:38:13 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on November 15, 1937.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 10 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
297 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 10 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 · 194 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.4192 km SSE of Hotan, ChinaOctober 12, 1920 · 278 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.386 km NE of Leh, IndiaNovember 15, 1937 · 75 km N of this epicenter
- 6.36 km N of Kotla, IndiaOctober 9, 1914 · 269 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2169 km NE of Leh, IndiaAugust 6, 1926 · 158 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.998 km SSE of Leh, IndiaMay 9, 1917 · 83 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8296 km ESE of Leh, IndiaMarch 4, 1932 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 5.7145 km ENE of Thang, IndiaJune 21, 1916 · 168 km N 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, which together caused about 19,000 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M7.9
Kangra
4 Apr 1905 · 194 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1885
Kashmir
6 Jun 1885 · 186 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Kashmir: Srinagar
Nov 1784 · 296 km away · intensity VIII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.