Earthquakes in Himachal Pradesh, India

State - Himachal Pradesh, India
Capital - Shimla
Population - 21,082,989 (2001)

Population per district (Top 5)
Kangra - pop. 1,339,030
Mandi - pop. 901,344
Shimla - pop. 722,502
Solan - pop. 500,557
Chamba - pop. 460,887

Earthquake History
The state of Himachal Pradesh lies almost entirely in the Himalayan mountains, and is part of the Punjab Himalayas. Due to its location it weathers dozens of mild earthquakes every year. Large earthquakes have occurred in all parts of Himachal Pradesh, the biggest being the Kangra Earthquake of 1905. The Himalayan Frontal Thrust, the Main boundary Thrust, the Krol, the Giri, Jutogh and Nahan thrusts lie in this region. Besides that there are scores of smaller faults, like the Kaurik Fault which triggered the 1975 earthquake. However, it must be stated that proximity to faults does not necessarily translate into a higher hazard as compared to areas located further away, as damage from earthquakes depends on numerous factors such as subsurface geology as well as adherence to the building codes.

Seismic Hazard

Chamba, Kullu, Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, Mandi, and Bilaspur Districts lie in Zone V. The remaining districts of Lahual and Spiti, Kinnaur, Shimla, Solan and Sirmaur lie in Zone IV. Since the earthquake database in India is still incomplete, especially with regards to earthquakes prior to the historical period (before 1800 A.D.), these zones offer a rough guide of the earthquake hazard in any particular region and need to be regularly updated (See also: GSHAP Hazard Map for Himachal Pradesh).
 

Largest Instrumented Earthquake in Himachal Pradesh
4 April 1905 - Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), Mw 7.8
33.00 N , 76.00 E, OT=00:50 UTC
At leats 28,000 people were killed in the Kangra-Dharamsala region of Himachal Pradesh. Damage and casualties also occurred in adjoining parts of Punjab including in the cities of Amritsar, Lahore, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Sialkot.

Significant Earthquakes  in Himachal Pradesh
The following list briefly outlines known earthquakes in this region. General locations are provided for historical events for which "generalized" epicentral co-ordinates are available. Some events which were significant for other reasons are also included. This list will be updated whenever newer information is available. Please note that Magnitude and Intensity are NOT THE SAME. All events are within the state or union territory covered on this page unless stated otherwise.

Acronyms Used:
D=Depth, OT=Origin Time, Mw=Moment Magnitude, Ms=Surface Wave magnitude, Mb=Body Wave Magnitude, ML=Local Magnitude, M?=Magnitude Type unknown

4 April 1905 - Kangra (Himachal Pradesh), Mw 7.8
33.00 N , 76.00 E, OT=00:50 UTC
At leats 28,000 people were killed in the Kangra-Dharamsala region of Himachal Pradesh. Damage and casualties also occurred in adjoining parts of Punjab including in the cities of Amritsar, Lahore, Jalandhar, Ludhiana and Sialkot.

28 February 1906 - Near Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Mw 6.4
32.00N, 77.00E
Damage and casualties in the Bashahr-Shimla hills states.

11 May 1930 - East of Sultanpur (Himachal Pradesh), 6.0 (TS)
11:30:36 UTC, 31.70N, 77.00E

22 June 1945 - Near Padua, Kathwa District, J&K (H.P.-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
18:00:51 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

10 July 1947 - Near Padua, Kathwad District, J&K (H.P.-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
10:19:20 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

12 August 1950 - Near Padua, Kathwad District, J&K (H.P.-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
03:59:06 UTC, 32.599N, 75.90E

12 September 1951 - Chamba-Udhampur Districts (H.P.--J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
20:41:48UTC, 33.30N, 76.50E

17 June 1955 - Lahual-Spiti District (Himachal Pradesh), 6.0 (TS)
10:14:09UTC, 32.50N, 78.60E

17 June 1962 - Chamba-Udhampur Districts (Himacahl Pradesh-J&K Border region), 6.0 (TS)
04:39:26.60 UTC, 33.30N, 76.20E

19 January 1975 -  SW of Dutung, Himachal Pradesh (Indo-China Bdr region), Ms 6.8 (NEIC)
08:02:02.50, 32.455N, 78.430N, 33kms depth
This earthquake struck in the early afternoon of January 19, 1975. It registered 6.2 on the Richter Scale. It caused havoc in parts of the Kinnaur, Lahaul and Spiti regions of India. 60 people were killed in this sparsely populated region.

21 October 1991 - Near Pilang (Uttarkashi District), Uttaranchal, Mw 6.8 (NEIC)
21:23:14 UTC / 02:53:14 IST, 30.78N, 78.77E
Between 750 to 2000 people killed in the Gharwal region. It was also felt very strongly in Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab. Fatalities were also reported from Himachal Pradesh. Some minor damage was reported in Chandigarh and New Delhi.

29th March 1999 - Near Gopeshwar (Chamoli District), Uttaranchal, Mw 6.5 (HRV)
19:05:11 UTC, 30.492N, 79.288E
115 people killed in the Gharwal region. The quake was felt very strongly in Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Delhi and Haryana. In Haryana, one person was killed in the city of Ambala and 2 at Nakodar in the neighbouring state of Punjab. Minor damage to buildings in New Delhi, most significantly in Patparganj. Minor damage also reported from Chandigarh.

11 November 2004 - Bharmour, Kangra region, Mb 5.1
32.442 N, 76.512 E, D=34 kms, OT=02:13:45 UTC
A moderate earthquake struck the Kangra Valley and the Dhauladhar Mountains on 11 November 2004 at 07:43 AM local time. It was felt strongly in the Kangra-Dharamsala region and event caused minor damage to buildings in the region. It had a magnitude of Mb=5.1.

8 October 2005 - Kashmir-Kohistan, Pakistan-India border, Mw 7.6
34.432 N, 73.537 E, D=020.0 kms, OT=03:50:40 UTC
A major earthquake struck the India-Pakistan border on the morning of 8 October 2005. It had a magnitude of Mw=7.6 and was felt strongly in much of Pakistan, northern India and eastern Afghanistan. The earthquake resulted in more than 80,000 deaths in northern Pakistan and adjoining parts of Jammu & Kashmir, India and is by far one of the deadliest in the sub-continent. At least 10 people also died in other parts of north India and 4 in Afghanistan due to this earthquake. Tremors from the earthquake were felt more than a thousand kilometres away in the Indian states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.