Reviewed by USGSIndia21y ago
M5.3 earthquake 191 km SSE of Port Blair, India
Sunday, April 17, 2005, 21:37:53 UTC · 10.178°N, 93.634°E
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 191 km SSE of Port Blair, India on Sunday, April 17, 2005, 21:37:53 UTC, at a depth of 25.9 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on February 25, 2005.
- Magnitude
- 5.3
- Moderate · mwc
- Depth
- 26 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
1 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/11 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 3 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
15 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Panama and Caribbean plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
26 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 M4.4 on May 17, 2005. 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 452 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 · 238 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6Nicobar Islands, India regionDecember 26, 2004 · 200 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5171 km S of Port Blair, IndiaApril 19, 1936 · 99 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3273 km SSE of Port Blair, IndiaOctober 21, 1916 · 92 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Nicobar Islands, India regionOctober 25, 1970 · 123 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Nicobar Islands, India regionSeptember 15, 1964 · 159 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3253 km E of Port Blair, IndiaMarch 28, 1971 · 245 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3267 km NNW of Sabang, IndonesiaJanuary 11, 1956 · 248 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 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 · 225 km away
Extreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1881M7.9
Andaman I,Nicobar I
31 Dec 1881 · 227 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)tsunami
- 2005M7.2
Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands
24 Jul 2005 · 297 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.