On Monday Evening a Shallow M5.1 Earthquake struck 161km from Rikaze in China.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on January 13th, 2025. Last updated January 15th, 2025.

A shallow and significant MAG-5.1 earthquake struck under land 161 kilometer from Rikaze in China in the evening of Monday January 13th, 2025. Other countries near the epicenter include Nepal, India, Bhutan and Bangladesh.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in China, 161 kilometer (100 mi) west-southwest of Rikaze in Tibet. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Jan 13, 2025 06:42PM (Kathmandu Time) - Jan 13, 2025 12:57 Universal Time.
Location:	228 km ENE of Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Coordinates 28°30'3"N 87°28'0"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 86 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.061 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Nearby towns and cities

5 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Nepal , China , India , Bhutan and Bangladesh .

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Khā̃dbāri̇̄ in Province 1, Nepal. Khā̃dbāri̇̄ is located 128 kilometer (80 mi) north of the epicenter.

Major cities near this earthquake: Kathmandu is located 228 km to the west-southwest. Siliguri is located 221 km to the south-southeast. Biratnagar is located 228 km to the south.

A complete list of nearby places is included below.

Overview of nearby places

Shaking reported by 8 people in 2 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 8 people have reported shaking in 5 places in 2 countries (India, Nepal).We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

• Tribuvannagar, Dang Deokhuri, Nepal: 3 people.
• Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal: 2 people.
• Shilīguri, Bangla, India: 1 person.
• Rangpo, Sikkim, India: 1 person.
• Dhulikhet, Kavrepalanchok, Nepal: 1 person.

12 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 12 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit 44 sec later 4 km (2.2 mi) northwest of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 29 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 1 day earlier. It measured a magnitude of 4.6

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

Aftershocks are usually at least 1 order of magnitude less strong than main shocks. The more time passes, the smaller the chance and likely strength of any potential aftershocks.

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.

Earthquakes like this happen often in the region

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since January 7th, 2025, when a 7.1 magnitude earthquake hit 19 km (12 mi) further northwest. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on April 25th, 2015.

In total, 32 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 4 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Sources

Last updated 15/01/25 09:28 (). 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.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us6000pjp9
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20250113_0000138
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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