Reviewed by USGSIndia52y ago
M4.9 earthquake 77 km ENE of Sarāhan, India
Wednesday, January 29, 1975, 15:49:25 UTC · 31.879°N, 78.485°E
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck 77 km ENE of Sarāhan, India on Wednesday, January 29, 1975, 15:49:25 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 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
166 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.7 on February 11, 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 47 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 · 168 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 64 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 193 km E of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 224 km W of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 201 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.46 km ESE of Chamba, IndiaJune 22, 1945 · 228 km W of this epicenter
- 6.458 km NE of Bāgeshwar, IndiaJune 4, 1945 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3133 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 197 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 · 168 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 65 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 109 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.