Reviewed by USGSMyanmar98y ago
M5.8 earthquake 87 km ENE of Myitkyina, Myanmar
Wednesday, June 12, 1929, 14:30:15 UTC · 25.813°N, 98.122°E
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck 87 km ENE of Myitkyina, Myanmar on Wednesday, June 12, 1929, 14:30:15 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on November 21, 1926.
- Magnitude
- 5.8
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
7 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 14 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
132 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: 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 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 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.362 km S of Bhamo, MyanmarFebruary 17, 1905 · 255 km S of this epicenter
- 7.264 km NNE of Sarupathar, IndiaDecember 12, 1908 · 142 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NE of Dali, ChinaMarch 16, 1925 · 225 km E of this epicenter
- 6.596 km SSW of Sarupathar, IndiaMarch 28, 1914 · 182 km W of this epicenter
- 6.481 km NNE of Sarupathar, IndiaAugust 31, 1906 · 143 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.110 km WNW of Lijiang, ChinaOctober 15, 1925 · 233 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.892 km WSW of Myitkyina, MyanmarNovember 21, 1926 · 179 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.7149 km SW of Dali, ChinaDecember 5, 1926 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 16 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,148 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 225 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 193 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1803M6.0
Yunnan Province
1 Feb 1803 · 249 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
23 Feb 1839 · 181 km away · intensity VIII
129 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
7 Feb 1839 · 181 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1925M5.8
Yunnan Province
14 Oct 1925 · 229 km away · intensity VII
12 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.