Magnitude6.5

Reviewed by USGSMyanmar98y ago

M6.5 earthquake 56 km SSW of Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar

Thursday, August 8, 1929, 12:57:17 UTC · 19.304°N, 95.858°E

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 56 km SSW of Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar on Thursday, August 8, 1929, 12:57:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.7 on May 2, 1922.

Magnitude
6.5
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

94 kilotons of TNT

That is about 6 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 197 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

40 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Eurasian 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 3 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 7 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 400 recorded deaths. The most severe:

  1. 1839

    Ava, Amarapura

    23 Mar 1839 · 289 km away · intensity XI

    400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)

  2. 1912M8.0

    Mandalay, Mogok, Maymyo

    23 May 1912 · 223 km away · intensity IX

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  3. 1838

    Ava (Innwa)

    1838 · 278 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  4. 1858

    Thayetmyo, Prome

    24 Aug 1858 · 96 km away

    Severe damage ($5–24M)

  5. 1895

    Rangoon

    1895 · 281 km away

    Moderate damage ($1–5M)

  6. 1714

    Ava (Innwa)

    4 Aug 1714 · 283 km away

    tsunami

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

Nearby trackers

Closest city pages