Reviewed by USGSMyanmar89y ago
M7.0 earthquake 31 km SE of Falam, Myanmar
Tuesday, August 16, 1938, 04:28:01 UTC · 22.723°N, 93.912°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 31 km SE of Falam, Myanmar on Tuesday, August 16, 1938, 04:28:01 UTC, at a depth of 75.0 km (intermediate). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 75 km
- Intermediate
- 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
511 kilotons of TNT
That is about 34 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,072 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
206 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
75 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.736 km NE of Magway, MyanmarJune 24, 1906 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.221 km SE of Wāngjing, IndiaApril 12, 1917 · 192 km N of this epicenter
- 6.213 km NW of Imphal, IndiaSeptember 22, 1930 · 243 km N of this epicenter
- 6.176 km NNW of Mogok, MyanmarFebruary 21, 1936 · 269 km E of this epicenter
- 6.021 km W of Falam, MyanmarAugust 10, 1923 · 49 km W of this epicenter
- 5.969 km NNE of Mawlaik, MyanmarMarch 15, 1927 · 184 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.869 km SE of Phek, IndiaJune 2, 1934 · 291 km N of this epicenter
- 5.853 km SE of Kakching, IndiaApril 23, 1935 · 168 km N 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 602 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1839
Ava, Amarapura
23 Mar 1839 · 233 km away · intensity XI
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1762
Chittagong, Dacca, Arracan
2 Apr 1762 · 212 km away · intensity XI
200 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 1869
Assam: Cachar,Silchar
10 Jan 1869 · 244 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1838
Ava (Innwa)
1838 · 238 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1714
Ava (Innwa)
4 Aug 1714 · 233 km away
tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.