M6.9 earthquake in Nepal

Wednesday, May 27, 1936, 06:19:14 UTC · 28.378°N, 83.320°E

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck in Nepal on Wednesday, May 27, 1936, 06:19:14 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.0 on August 28, 1916.

Magnitude: 6.9; Strong · mw
Depth: 15 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

304 kilotons of TNT

That is about 20 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 638 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

65 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.

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 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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:

History · NOAA

Deadliest earthquakes in this area

NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 500 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1833M7.7
Kathmandu; India: Bihar; China: Tibet
26 Aug 1833 · 214 km away · intensity IX
500 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1869M6.5
Kathmandu
7 Jul 1869 · 208 km away
Extreme damage ($25M+)
1866
Kathmandu
23 May 1866 · 208 km away
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 289 km away

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers