The 2001 Bhuj earthquake remains one of India’s most remembered disasters, but it was not the strongest quake recorded in the country’s seismic history.
India lies along the collision zone of the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates, making the Himalayan belt and several adjoining regions highly vulnerable to major earthquakes. Some of these events were centred within India, while others originated in neighbouring areas but caused extensive damage across the country.
Here are 10 of the most powerful earthquakes to have struck India or significantly affected the region, ranked by magnitude.
1. Assam-Tibet earthquake, 1950 — magnitude 8.7
The Assam-Tibet earthquake remains the strongest earthquake associated with India.
The quake killed about 4,800 people and caused widespread destruction across Assam, Tibet and adjoining areas. It was triggered by the collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates and is considered one of the largest continental earthquakes ever recorded.
2. Bihar-Nepal earthquake, 1934 — magnitude 8.1
The January 15, 1934 earthquake caused extensive damage across Bihar and Nepal.
Estimates place the overall death toll between 10,700 and 12,000, including 7,253 deaths in Bihar. Towns including Rajnagar, Madhubani, Darbhanga, Bhagalpur and Patna suffered major destruction. Reports said nearly every house in Sitamarhi was damaged or destroyed.
3. Nepal earthquake, 2015 — magnitude 7.8
The 2015 earthquake was centred in Nepal’s Gorkha district but was felt across northern and eastern India, Bangladesh, Tibet and parts of China.
Nearly 9,000 people were killed and more than 22,000 injured across the affected region. The disaster caused losses estimated at around $7.8 billion and became Nepal’s worst earthquake in about a century.
4. Kashmir earthquake, 2005 — magnitude 7.6
The October 2005 earthquake caused severe damage across Pakistan-administered Kashmir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and parts of Jammu and Kashmir.
The estimated death toll ranged between 79,000 and 86,000, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes recorded in South Asia.
5. Bhuj earthquake, 2001 — magnitude 7.6
The Bhuj earthquake struck Gujarat on January 26, 2001, causing extensive destruction across Kutch and other parts of the state.
Nearly 20,023 people were killed and about 166,000 injured. Around 400,000 buildings were destroyed across Gujarat and parts of Sindh in Pakistan. Nearly a quarter of Gujarat’s homes were damaged, while about 90% of houses in Kutch were affected.
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6. Sikkim earthquake, 2011 — magnitude 6.9
The September 18, 2011 earthquake struck near the Nepal-Sikkim border, close to the Kanchenjunga Conservation Area.
Tremors were felt across India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China. The earthquake killed 111 people and caused damage estimated at $22 billion.
7. Kinnaur earthquake, 1975 — magnitude 6.8
The 1975 earthquake struck Himachal Pradesh’s Kinnaur district, a region located within the active Himalayan seismic belt.
The shaking was classified as violent in the worst-affected areas. About 47 people were killed, while buildings, roads and mountain settlements suffered extensive damage.
8. Koyna earthquake, 1967 — magnitude 6.6
The Koyna earthquake struck Maharashtra on December 11, 1967, killing at least 177 people and injuring more than 2,200.
The event is widely associated with reservoir-induced seismicity linked to the Koyna Dam, making it one of India’s most prominent examples of earthquake activity potentially triggered by human intervention.
9. Latur earthquake, 1993 — magnitude 6.2 to 6.4
The Latur earthquake struck Maharashtra on September 30, 1993.
Despite its lower magnitude compared with several other earthquakes on the list, the shallow quake caused severe destruction in densely settled villages. Around 10,000 people were killed and approximately 30,000 injured.
10. Anjar earthquake, 1956 — magnitude 6.1
The Anjar earthquake caused its worst damage in the town of Anjar in Gujarat’s Kutch region.
The quake killed about 115 people and injured 254. It was another reminder of Kutch’s high seismic risk decades before the much larger Bhuj earthquake struck the region in 2001.
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