Reviewed by USGSIndia52y ago
M4.5 earthquake 68 km E of Sarāhan, India
Wednesday, April 9, 1975, 21:45:40 UTC · 31.586°N, 78.512°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 68 km E of Sarāhan, India on Wednesday, April 9, 1975, 21:45:40 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on April 1, 1975.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
140 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 48 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 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SE of Dārchulā, NepalAugust 28, 1916 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 97 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 187 km E of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 230 km W of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 185 km E of this epicenter
- 6.46 km ESE of Chamba, IndiaJune 22, 1945 · 243 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.458 km NE of Bāgeshwar, IndiaJune 4, 1945 · 212 km SE of this epicenter
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 19,047 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M7.9
Kangra
4 Apr 1905 · 188 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 97 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 80 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 296 km away
- 1833M7.5
Lohughar
30 May 1833 · 287 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.