Reviewed by USGSIndia27y ago
M4.5 earthquake 36 km SSW of Pīpalkoti, India
Friday, May 7, 1999, 17:12:01 UTC · 30.109°N, 79.346°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 36 km SSW of Pīpalkoti, India on Friday, May 7, 1999, 17:12:01 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on April 18, 1999.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
63 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
10 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 M4.6 on May 14, 1999. 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 94 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 · 138 km E of this epicenter
- 6.832 km E of Uttarkāshi, IndiaOctober 19, 1991 · 93 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 275 km N of this epicenter
- 6.76 km SE of Jahāngīrpur, IndiaOctober 10, 1956 · 268 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 191 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.637 km ESE of Dārchulā, NepalJune 27, 1966 · 158 km E of this epicenter
- 6.69 km NNW of Pīpalkoti, IndiaMarch 28, 1999 · 45 km N of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 137 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 2,442 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1991M7.0
Chamoli, Uttarkashi, New Delhi, Chandigarh
19 Oct 1991 · 93 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deaths$60 million damage
- 1980M6.5
Pithoragarh
29 Jul 1980 · 178 km away
200 deaths$245 million damage
- 1999M6.6
Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal
28 Mar 1999 · 45 km away · intensity VIII
100 deaths$70 million damage
- 1966M6.3
Nepal-India
27 Jun 1966 · 158 km away · intensity VIII
80 deaths$1 million damage
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 276 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1966M5.6
N
15 Aug 1966 · 163 km away
15 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.