Reviewed by USGSIndia110y ago
M5.9 earthquake 98 km SSE of Leh, India
Wednesday, May 9, 1917, 21:46:02 UTC · 33.336°N, 77.958°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 98 km SSE of Leh, India on Wednesday, May 9, 1917, 21:46:02 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on October 9, 1914.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 26 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
248 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 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 4 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 · 127 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 236 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.36 km N of Kotla, IndiaOctober 9, 1914 · 213 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.7145 km ENE of Thang, IndiaJune 21, 1916 · 251 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 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 · 127 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 278 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1885
Kashmir
6 Jun 1885 · 196 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.