Reviewed by USGS23y ago
M5.4 earthquake in Carlsberg Ridge
Sunday, July 27, 2003, 22:50:25 UTC · 1.008°S, 69.653°E
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck in Carlsberg Ridge on Sunday, July 27, 2003, 22:50:25 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on July 16, 2003.
- Magnitude
- 5.4
- Moderate · mwc
- 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: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
2 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
216 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Somali plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
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 75 km
USGS lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.5 on August 18, 2003. 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 50 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.6Carlsberg RidgeJuly 15, 2003 · 226 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0Carlsberg RidgeSeptember 7, 1955 · 236 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0Carlsberg RidgeJanuary 14, 1998 · 212 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.9Chagos Archipelago regionMarch 31, 1970 · 290 km S of this epicenter
- 5.8Carlsberg RidgeMay 9, 1985 · 223 km W of this epicenter
- 5.8Carlsberg RidgeAugust 9, 1959 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 5.7Carlsberg RidgeJanuary 3, 1980 · 299 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.7Carlsberg RidgeNovember 1, 1994 · 195 km W 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:
- 2003M7.6
Felt In Maldives
15 Jul 2003 · 226 km away
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.