Reviewed by USGSIndia90y ago
M5.8 earthquake 23 km N of Diphu, India
Sunday, March 21, 1937, 16:12:08 UTC · 26.057°N, 93.461°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 23 km N of Diphu, India on Sunday, March 21, 1937, 16:12:08 UTC, at a depth of 25.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on June 2, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 25 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 18 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
117 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
25 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 20 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.99 km NNE of Netrakona, BangladeshSeptember 9, 1923 · 298 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.634 km NNW of Tawang, IndiaDecember 3, 1915 · 261 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.510 km S of Mokokchūng, IndiaMay 12, 1906 · 108 km E of this epicenter
- 6.596 km SSW of Sarupathar, IndiaMarch 28, 1914 · 298 km E of this epicenter
- 6.221 km SE of Wāngjing, IndiaApril 12, 1917 · 195 km S of this epicenter
- 6.213 km NW of Imphal, IndiaSeptember 22, 1930 · 134 km S of this epicenter
- 5.969 km NNE of Mawlaik, MyanmarMarch 15, 1927 · 238 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.83 km E of Rangia, IndiaNovember 9, 1932 · 186 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,594 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1897M8.0
Assam; Bangladesh
12 Jun 1897 · 276 km away · intensity X
1,542 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1923M6.9
Mymensingh
9 Sep 1923 · 298 km away
50 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1869
Assam: Cachar,Silchar
10 Jan 1869 · 198 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1713
Arunachal; Bhutan
1713 · 167 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1932M7.0
Assam
14 Aug 1932 · 204 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1846M7.5
India
10 Dec 1846 · 46 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.