Reviewed by USGSNepal46y ago
M4.5 earthquake 20 km NNW of Dipayal, Nepal
Thursday, July 31, 1980, 14:22:01 UTC · 29.430°N, 80.851°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 20 km NNW of Dipayal, Nepal on Thursday, July 31, 1980, 14:22:01 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.5 on July 30, 1980.
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
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
57 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
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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on August 4, 1980. 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 61 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.021 km SE of Dārchulā, NepalAugust 28, 1916 · 31 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.9NepalMay 27, 1936 · 267 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8212 km ENE of Burang, ChinaOctober 17, 1944 · 296 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 236 km N of this epicenter
- 6.637 km ESE of Dārchulā, NepalJune 27, 1966 · 31 km N of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5205 km ENE of Burang, ChinaOctober 29, 1944 · 283 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.573 km E of Burang, ChinaMarch 6, 1913 · 135 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 295 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1980M6.5
Pithoragarh
29 Jul 1980 · 30 km away
200 deaths$245 million damage
- 1966M6.3
Nepal-India
27 Jun 1966 · 14 km away · intensity VIII
80 deaths$1 million damage
- 1966M5.6
N
15 Aug 1966 · 206 km away
15 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1803M7.5
Uttarakhand, Mathura (Muttra)
1 Sep 1803 · 249 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1916M7.7
Nepal; Tibet (Xizang Province)
28 Aug 1916 · 65 km away
- 1833M7.5
Lohughar
30 May 1833 · 73 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.