Reviewed by USGSIndia35y ago
M4.5 earthquake 41 km ENE of Uttarkāshi, India
Sunday, October 20, 1991, 04:20:28 UTC · 30.899°N, 78.832°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 41 km ENE of Uttarkāshi, India on Sunday, October 20, 1991, 04:20:28 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.8 on October 19, 1991.
- 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
103 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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.9 on October 20, 1991. 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 86 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 · 262 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.021 km SE of Dārchulā, NepalAugust 28, 1916 · 224 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.832 km E of Uttarkāshi, IndiaOctober 19, 1991 · 14 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 177 km N of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 172 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.610 km W of Dera Gopipur, IndiaFebruary 27, 1906 · 281 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.637 km ESE of Dārchulā, NepalJune 27, 1966 · 240 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 144 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 11 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 21,348 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1905M7.9
Kangra
4 Apr 1905 · 262 km away · intensity X
19,000 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1991M7.0
Chamoli, Uttarkashi, New Delhi, Chandigarh
19 Oct 1991 · 14 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deaths$60 million damage
- 1980M6.5
Pithoragarh
29 Jul 1980 · 261 km away
200 deaths$245 million damage
- 1966M6.3
Nepal-India
27 Jun 1966 · 245 km away · intensity VIII
80 deaths$1 million damage
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 178 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1966M5.6
N
15 Aug 1966 · 245 km away
15 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.