Reviewed by USGSIndia44y ago
M5.0 earthquake 157 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, India
Thursday, February 17, 1983, 08:55:53 UTC · 12.906°N, 93.483°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 157 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, India on Thursday, February 17, 1983, 08:55:53 UTC, at a depth of 98.6 km (intermediate). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on January 24, 1983.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · mb
- Depth
- 99 km
- Intermediate
- 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
173 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Burma plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: intermediate
99 km
Intermediate-depth earthquakes usually break inside a plate that is sinking into the mantle. Shaking spreads over a wide area but is gentler at the epicenter than a shallow quake of the same size.
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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on February 20, 1983. 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 72 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 8.043 km N of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJune 26, 1941 · 129 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8166 km NE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJanuary 24, 1983 · 11 km E of this epicenter
- 6.4Andaman Islands, India regionOctober 17, 1922 · 254 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3253 km E of Port Blair, IndiaMarch 28, 1971 · 205 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3229 km S of Pyapon, MyanmarJune 18, 1957 · 284 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.353 km W of Bamboo Flat, IndiaAugust 8, 1945 · 191 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.2179 km NNE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaNovember 16, 1962 · 61 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.2112 km NE of Bamboo Flat, IndiaJuly 4, 1917 · 48 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1941M8.0
Andaman Islands,Madras; Sri Lanka: Colombo
26 Jun 1941 · 142 km away
Extreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.