Reviewed by USGSIndia90y ago
M6.3 earthquake 86 km NE of Leh, India
Monday, November 15, 1937, 21:37:28 UTC · 34.726°N, 78.238°E
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 86 km NE of Leh, India on Monday, November 15, 1937, 21:37:28 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.4 on October 12, 1920.
- Magnitude
- 6.3
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 30 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 earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
51 kilotons of TNT
That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 106 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
353 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
30 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 9 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 · 266 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.4192 km SSE of Hotan, ChinaOctober 12, 1920 · 226 km E of this epicenter
- 6.2169 km NE of Leh, IndiaAugust 6, 1926 · 85 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.0244 km SSE of Hotan, ChinaSeptember 1, 1930 · 273 km E of this epicenter
- 5.998 km SSE of Leh, IndiaMay 9, 1917 · 157 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8296 km ESE of Leh, IndiaMarch 4, 1932 · 264 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.7145 km ENE of Thang, IndiaJune 21, 1916 · 96 km N of this epicenter
- 5.6164 km NNE of Leh, IndiaAugust 6, 1926 · 81 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 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 · 266 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1885
Kashmir
6 Jun 1885 · 221 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.