Reviewed by USGSIndia52y ago
M4.9 earthquake 98 km NE of Sarāhan, India
Monday, January 27, 1975, 09:23:37 UTC · 32.029°N, 78.637°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 98 km NE of Sarāhan, India on Monday, January 27, 1975, 09:23:37 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on January 27, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.9
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
338 tons of TNT
That is about 1/45 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 1 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
188 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
33 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 50 km
USGS lists 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on January 29, 1975. 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 44 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 · 174 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 51 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 184 km E of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 239 km W of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 198 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.46 km ESE of Chamba, IndiaJune 22, 1945 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 6.458 km NE of Bāgeshwar, IndiaJune 4, 1945 · 241 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3133 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 189 km E 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 19,047 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M7.9
Kangra
4 Apr 1905 · 174 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 52 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 119 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.