Reviewed by USGSIndia101y ago
M5.6 earthquake 164 km NNE of Leh, India
Friday, August 6, 1926, 20:36:39 UTC · 35.406°N, 78.564°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 164 km NNE of Leh, India on Friday, August 6, 1926, 20:36:39 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on December 7, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
421 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
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M6.2 on August 6, 1926. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.4192 km SSE of Hotan, ChinaOctober 12, 1920 · 181 km E of this epicenter
- 6.194 km S of Shache, ChinaJuly 12, 1910 · 270 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.1105 km SSW of Shache, ChinaDecember 7, 1925 · 273 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.998 km SSE of Leh, IndiaMay 9, 1917 · 237 km S of this epicenter
- 5.7145 km ENE of Thang, IndiaJune 21, 1916 · 41 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1885
Kashmir
6 Jun 1885 · 282 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.