Reviewed by USGSIndia86y ago
M8.0 earthquake 43 km N of Bamboo Flat, India
Thursday, June 26, 1941, 11:52:04 UTC · 12.084°N, 92.650°E
A magnitude 8.0 earthquake struck 43 km N of Bamboo Flat, India on Thursday, June 26, 1941, 11:52:04 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 8.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
13 megatons of TNT
That is about 872 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 27,542 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
105 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
20 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 200 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.0 on June 27, 1941. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 5.833 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, India86y ago · 18 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.486 km E of Port Blair, India86y ago · 104 km E of this epicenter
- 5.554 km NE of Bamboo Flat, India86y ago · 41 km E of this epicenter
- 5.845 km NNW of Bamboo Flat, India86y ago · 10 km W of this epicenter
- 5.583 km WNW of Bamboo Flat, India86y ago · 75 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0114 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, India86y ago · 81 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 14 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.5171 km S of Port Blair, IndiaApril 19, 1936 · 219 km S of this epicenter
- 6.2112 km NE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJuly 4, 1917 · 90 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.1211 km S of Port Blair, IndiaAugust 1, 1929 · 260 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0119 km SW of Port Blair, IndiaMay 13, 1925 · 157 km S of this epicenter
- 6.097 km ESE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 11, 1914 · 127 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.978 km S of Port Blair, IndiaJune 28, 1925 · 126 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8282 km N of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJune 10, 1906 · 243 km N of this epicenter
- 5.8224 km E of Port Blair, IndiaSeptember 14, 1939 · 239 km E 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 · 16 km away
Extreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.