Shallow M5.1 Earthquake hit 51mi from Pakistan on Tuesday Morning.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 20th, 2024. Last updated September 17th, 2024.

In the early morning of Tuesday August 20th, 2024, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit 51 miles from Pakistan. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Other nearby countries are India and Afghanistan.

Earthquake Summary

This earthquake struck 51 miles (81 km) from Pakistan The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 20 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 20, 2024 06:45 (Kolkata Time) - Aug 20, 2024 01:15 Universal Time.
Location:	9 km WSW of Bāramūla, Jammu and Kashmir, India. Coordinates 34°10'22"N 74°15'37"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 209 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.039 .
Depth:	20 km (12 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Low tsunami risk Earthquakes under MAG-6.5 do not usually cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Impact

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

One person killed, three injured and several homes damaged in Kupwara.

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake struck within proximity of multiple countries. India , Pakistan and Afghanistan are all within 300km distance of its epicenter.

Bāramūla in Jammu and Kashmir, India is the nearest significant place from the epicenter. The earthquake occurred 9 kilometer (6 mi) west-southwest of Bāramūla.

Major cities near this earthquake: Lahore is located 291 km to the south. Srinagar is located 51 km to the east. Rawalpindi is located 129 km to the west-southwest.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
9 km (6 mi) ENE from epicenter	Bāramūla Jammu and Kashmir, India.
23 km (14 mi) NE from epicenter	Sopur Jammu and Kashmir, India.
42 km (26 mi) ESE from epicenter	Soyībug Jammu and Kashmir, India.
44 km (27 mi) NE from epicenter	Bandipura Jammu and Kashmir, India.
47 km (29 mi) SSW from epicenter	Pūnch Jammu and Kashmir, India.
48 km (30 mi) E from epicenter	Gāndarbal Jammu and Kashmir, India.
51 km (32 mi) E from epicenter	Srinagar Jammu and Kashmir, India.
58 km (36 mi) SW from epicenter	Rawalakot Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
68 km (42 mi) ESE from epicenter	Pulwama Jammu and Kashmir, India.
76 km (47 mi) WNW from epicenter	Muzaffarābād Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
80 km (50 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kotli Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
84 km (52 mi) SW from epicenter	Kamra Punjab, Pakistan.
85 km (53 mi) WSW from epicenter	Murree Punjab, Pakistan.
89 km (55 mi) S from epicenter	Rajaori Jammu and Kashmir, India.
89 km (55 mi) ESE from epicenter	Bijbehara Jammu and Kashmir, India.
91 km (57 mi) SE from epicenter	Kulgam Jammu and Kashmir, India.
96 km (60 mi) ESE from epicenter	Anantnag Jammu and Kashmir, India.
97 km (60 mi) W from epicenter	Abbottabad Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
99 km (62 mi) W from epicenter	Mansehra Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
102 km (63 mi) W from epicenter	Havelian Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
103 km (64 mi) SW from epicenter	Kahuta Punjab, Pakistan.
123 km (76 mi) WSW from epicenter	Islamabad Islamabad, Pakistan.
123 km (76 mi) SSW from epicenter	New Mirpur Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
124 km (77 mi) W from epicenter	Haripur Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
127 km (79 mi) WNW from epicenter	Battagram Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
127 km (79 mi) W from epicenter	Khalabat Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
129 km (80 mi) WSW from epicenter	Rawalpindi Punjab, Pakistan.
134 km (83 mi) S from epicenter	Bhimber Azad Kashmir, Pakistan.
135 km (84 mi) SW from epicenter	Gujar Khan Punjab, Pakistan.
146 km (91 mi) SSW from epicenter	Jhelum Punjab, Pakistan.
155 km (96 mi) SSW from epicenter	Kharian Punjab, Pakistan.
161 km (100 mi) SSE from epicenter	Udhampur Jammu and Kashmir, India.
165 km (103 mi) W from epicenter	Swabi Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
166 km (103 mi) S from epicenter	Lala Musa Punjab, Pakistan.
169 km (105 mi) SSE from epicenter	Jammu Jammu and Kashmir, India.
170 km (106 mi) S from epicenter	Jalalpur Jattan Punjab, Pakistan.
179 km (111 mi) S from epicenter	Gujrat Punjab, Pakistan.
181 km (112 mi) WSW from epicenter	Attock City Punjab, Pakistan.
183 km (114 mi) W from epicenter	Tordher Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
187 km (116 mi) WNW from epicenter	Mingora Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
189 km (117 mi) S from epicenter	Sialkot Punjab, Pakistan.
190 km (118 mi) SSW from epicenter	Mandi Bahauddin Punjab, Pakistan.
190 km (118 mi) SW from epicenter	Chakwal Punjab, Pakistan.
193 km (120 mi) S from epicenter	Wazirabad Punjab, Pakistan.
203 km (126 mi) W from epicenter	Mardan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
224 km (139 mi) S from epicenter	Gujranwala Punjab, Pakistan.
248 km (154 mi) W from epicenter	Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
250 km (155 mi) SE from epicenter	Chamba Himachal Pradesh, India.
255 km (158 mi) ESE from epicenter	Padam Ladakh, India.
275 km (171 mi) SSW from epicenter	Sargodha Punjab, Pakistan.
275 km (171 mi) S from epicenter	Shekhupura Punjab, Pakistan.
289 km (180 mi) SSE from epicenter	Amritsar Punjab, India.
291 km (181 mi) S from epicenter	Lahore Punjab, Pakistan.
296 km (184 mi) WNW from epicenter	Asadābād Kunar, Afghanistan.

Shaking reported by 10 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 10 people have reported shaking in 4 places, all within India.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Baramula, Jammu and Kashmir, India: 6 people.
Srīnagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India: 2 people.
Handwara, Jammu and Kashmir, India: 1 person.
Uri, Jammu and Kashmir, India: 1 person.

2 Aftershocks detected

This main shock was followed by 2 smaller aftershocks. A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit 7 mins later 4 km (2.7 mi) east-southeast of this earthquake.

This main shock was prefaced by 1 smaller foreshock. A 4.2 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days earlier nearby.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 4.2	2 days earlier Aug 18, 2024 03:03 (Kolkata Time)	61 km (38 mi) WNW from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.1	Aug 20, 2024 06:45 (Kolkata Time)	-
Aftershock	M 5.1	7 mins later Aug 20, 2024 06:52 (Kolkata Time)	4 km (2.7 mi) ESE from Main Shock.
Aftershock	M 3.6	2 days later Aug 21, 2024 22:22 (Kolkata Time)	16 km (10 mi) WNW from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since June 13th, 2023, when a 5.2 magnitude earthquake hit 192 km (119 mi) further south-east. An even stronger magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck on December 30th, 2019.

In total, 9 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every year.

Low tsunami risk

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

Based on early data it appears this earthquake was not strong enough (lower than MAG-6.5) to be likely to cause destructive tsunami's. However this earthquake appeared to have hit at a shallow depth under sea, so stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	This earthquake appears to have struck under the sea.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 20 km (12 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 17/09/24 04:58 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.