Reviewed by USGSIndia112y ago
M6.6 earthquake 34 km NNW of Tawang, India
Friday, December 3, 1915, 02:39:23 UTC · 27.844°N, 91.752°E
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck 34 km NNW of Tawang, India on Friday, December 3, 1915, 02:39:23 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 6.6
- 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
104 kilotons of TNT
That is about 7 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 219 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
90 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 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 no earlier M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km.
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 1,812 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1897M8.0
Assam; Bangladesh
12 Jun 1897 · 230 km away · intensity X
1,542 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1915M7.0
Tibet (Xizang Province)
3 Dec 1915 · 186 km away · intensity IX
170 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1806M7.7
Tibet (Xizang Province): Shannan (Lhoka)
11 Jun 1806 · 77 km away
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1713
Arunachal; Bhutan
1713 · 129 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1846M7.5
India
10 Dec 1846 · 239 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.