Reviewed by USGSNepal111y ago
M5.9 earthquake 26 km NNE of Dadeldhurā, Nepal
Sunday, December 24, 1916, 07:53:22 UTC · 29.527°N, 80.671°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 26 km NNE of Dadeldhurā, Nepal on Sunday, December 24, 1916, 07:53:22 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
- 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 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
61 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 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:
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. The most severe:
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 229 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 61 km away
- 1833M7.5
Lohughar
30 May 1833 · 57 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.