THE MOST POWERFUL

EARTHQUAKES OF
INDIA
 Date, Time, and
Sl. No. Place Deaths Year Magnitude Epicenter
1 Indian Ocean > 283,106 08:50, December 9.1–9.3 West coast of Sumatra,
26, 2004 Indonesia
2 Kashmir 130,000 08:50:38, 7.6 Muzaffarabad,
October 8, 2005 Pakistan-administered
Kashmir
3 Bihar and Nepal > 30,000 14 :13, January 8.7 South of Mount
15, 1934 Everest
4 Gujarat 20,000 08:50:00, 7.7 Kutch, Gujarat
January 26, 2001

5 Kangra > 20,000 06:10, April 4, 7.8 Himalayas

1905
6 Latur > 9,748 22:25, September 6.4 Killari, Latur
30, 1993

7 Assam 1,526 19:39, August 15, 8.6 Rima, Tibet

1950
8 Assam 1,500 17 :11, June 12, 8.1 Exact location not
1897 known
9 Uttarkashi >1,000 Unknown time, 6.8 Garhwal, Uttarakhand
October 20, 1991

10 Koynanagar 180 04:21, December 6.5 Koyna

11, 1967
1) Indian Ocean Earthquake, 2004
Date - December 26, 2004
Time - 08:50
Deaths - > 283,106 (Includes deaths
in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India,
Thailand, Maldives, and Somalia)
Magnitude - 9.1–9.3
Epicenter - West coast of Sumatra,
Indonesia (3.316°N 95.854°E)
The calamity was so huge that even islands in
the middle of the Indian Ocean disappeared or
were in 3-5 meters deep in water.
 Kashmir earthquake 2005

Date - October 8, 2005

Time - 08:50:38

Deaths - 130,000

Magnitude - 7.6

Epicenter - Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administered

Kashmir (34.45°N 73.65°E)
While the death toll in India was less, the Pakistani side
suffered a huge loss of life and property.

The epicenter of the quake was in Muzaffarabad,

Pakistan.

Its severity could be understood by the fact that even

neighboring countries like China, Afghanistan, and
Tajikistan felt tremors.

The International community came forward in every

possible way to help the victims. Relief material flowed
in from every part of the world.

The Indian Army helped in a big way by clearing the

debris and distributing relief material and maintaining
medical camps in Pakistan as well as in India.
Bihar earthquake 1934

Date - January 15, 1934

Time - 14 :13

Deaths - > 30,000

Magnitude - 8.7

Epicenter - South of Mount Everest (27.55°N 87.09°E)

Just as the recent one that took place in
Pokhara in which both Nepal and India are
affected like it was in 1934 though on a larger
scale (8.7 magnitude) with widespread
destruction.

As of recent reports the 2015 earthquake is of

7.9 magnitude with more than 1500 people
dead in India and Nepal.
Gujarat earthquake 2001
Date - January 26, 2001

Time - 08:50:00

Deaths - 20,000

Magnitude - 7.7

Epicenter - Kutch, Gujarat (23.419°N 70.232°E)

 KANGRA
EARTHQUAKE 1905
Date - April 4, 1905

Time - 06:10

Deaths - > 20,000

Magnitude - 7.8

Epicenter - Himalayas (33.0°N 76.0°E)

Another one of the deadliest quakes that
India faced took place in the Kangra region
of Himachal Pradesh.

More than 100,000 homes were destroyed

and scores of animals, trees, and the natural
vegetation of the region had were completed
gutted.

This is the 2nd worst earthquake from the

pre-independence era after the Nepal-Bihar
earthquake of 1934.
LATUR EARTHQUAKE
1993
Date - September 30, 1993

Time - 22:25

Deaths - > 9,748

Magnitude - 6.4

Epicenter - Killari, Latur (18.1°N 76.5°E)

One of the most fatal natural disaster that
Maharashtra has ever faced.
Though the magnitude recorded was 6.4 but
the destruction that it caused was massive.

The most affected areas were of Latur and

Osmanabad.

Invariably, this natural calamity brought

attention towards this area and now Latur and
adjoining areas as well-developed.
ASSAM EARTHQUAKE 1950

Date - August 15, 1950

Time - 19:39

Deaths - 1,526

Magnitude - 8.6

Epicenter - Rima, Tibet (28.5°N 96.5°E)

Another one which happened on a
national day of India - on the
Independence day.
Many parts of Assam and Tibet were
severely damaged to unknown
proportions.
However, Assam bear the most brunt of
this quake than that of Tibet.
The after effects were a strong flooding
situation which added to the already
scary situation.
 Assam earthquake 1897
Date - June 12, 1897

Time - 17 :11

Deaths - 1,500

Magnitude - 8.1

Epicenter - Exact location not known (26°N 91°E)

The north-eastern states of India fall under
the zone 4 hazard seismic area.
States like Assam, Arunachal Pradesh from
the north-east, Kashmir, and Gujarat all fall
in the Zone 5 and are the most prone to
earthquakes.
This earthquake affected India, Tibet, and
Burma.
 UTTARKASHI
EARTHQUAKE 1991
Date - October 20, 1991

Time - Unknown

Deaths - >1,000

Magnitude - 6.8

Epicenter - Garhwal, Uttarakhand (30.780°N 78.774°E)

Lakhs of people became homeless and
nearly 42,000 homes and buildings
were damaged. As much as 1300+
villages were destroyed. Many were
injured and the official death toll stood
at 768 but there were many more
deaths than that.
The whole of Uttarkashi region was
harshly affected which is now known
as Uttarakhand.
Koynanagar earthquake 1967
Date - December 11, 1967

Time - 04:21

Deaths -180

Magnitude - 6.5

Epicenter - Koyna (17.4°N 73.76°E)

Koynanagar is the most seismically active area in the
country.

As much as 20 known earthquakes have taken place

at Koynanagar.

The latest one being on 14th April 2014. It lies in the

Zone 4 of the hazard zoning.

Of all them, the most severe one took place in 1967

with areas affecting to the tune of 25 kilometers with
casualties of 180 and 1500 injured.
Earthquake zones of India

According to a recent study conducted by

National Institute of Disaster Management
about 59 percent of the area in India is prone
to earthquakes.

India is divided into 4 seismic zones.

Zone 2 - Low-
risk Zone

41 % of land area.
Zone 3 - Moderate Risk Zone

30 % of land area - Some parts of

Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan, Gujarat,
Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,
Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, West Bengal,
Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and the whole of
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Goa, and Kerala
fall in the risk zone.
Zone 4 - High Risk Zone

18 % of land area - Some parts of

Jammu and Kashmir,
Uttarakhand, Delhi, Gujarat,
Bihar, West Bengal, Koynanagar
in Maharashtra, and the whole of
Sikkim lie in this zone.
Zone 5 - Very High-Risk Area

11 % of land area in India is considered as

high risk. List of states that fall in this
zone are
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Nagaland,
Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Central
Kashmir, Central Himalayas, Northern
Bihar, Rann of Kutch, and Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.
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