Reviewed by USGSIndia27y ago
M4.6 earthquake 15 km SW of Pīpalkoti, India
Friday, May 14, 1999, 08:31:03 UTC · 30.320°N, 79.318°E
A magnitude 4.6 earthquake struck 15 km SW of Pīpalkoti, India on Friday, May 14, 1999, 08:31:03 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.9 on April 18, 1999.
- Magnitude
- 4.6
- 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
120 tons of TNT
That is about 1/126 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 4 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
81 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 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 95 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 · 150 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.832 km E of Uttarkāshi, IndiaOctober 19, 1991 · 73 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.8120 km E of Manāli, IndiaJanuary 19, 1975 · 252 km N of this epicenter
- 6.76 km SE of Jahāngīrpur, IndiaOctober 10, 1956 · 286 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7138 km NE of Joshīmath, IndiaMarch 6, 1966 · 174 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.637 km ESE of Dārchulā, NepalJune 27, 1966 · 168 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.69 km NNW of Pīpalkoti, IndiaMarch 28, 1999 · 23 km N of this epicenter
- 6.588 km ENE of Joshīmath, IndiaOctober 14, 1911 · 123 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 · 73 km away · intensity VIII
2,000 deaths$60 million damage
- 1980M6.5
Pithoragarh
29 Jul 1980 · 189 km away
200 deaths$245 million damage
- 1999M6.6
Chamoli, Rudraprayag, Tehri Garhwal
28 Mar 1999 · 23 km away · intensity VIII
100 deaths$70 million damage
- 1966M6.3
Nepal-India
27 Jun 1966 · 171 km away · intensity VIII
80 deaths$1 million damage
- 1975M6.8
Kashmir: Kinnaur District
19 Jan 1975 · 252 km away
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1966M5.6
N
15 Aug 1966 · 185 km away
15 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.