Shallow M5.5 Earthquake hit near Kathmandu in Nepal on Friday Night.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on February 27th, 2025. Last updated March 3rd, 2025.

Under land 65 kilometer from Kathmandu in Nepal, a shallow and significant MAG-5.5 earthquake occurred in the night of Friday February 28th, 2025. Shaking may have been felt by a total of 70 million people. India is also near its epicenter.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Nepal, 65 kilometer (40 mi) east-northeast of Kathmandu in Bagmati Province. 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:	Feb 28, 2025 02:51AM (Kathmandu Time) - Feb 27, 2025 21:06 Universal Time.
Location:	65 km ENE of Kathmandu, Bagmati Province, Nepal. Coordinates 27°49'35"N 85°58'3"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.5 Detected by 287 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.035 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VII Very Strong On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
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.

Minimal impact predicted

Based on scientific estimates by the US Geographic Survey (USGS), the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level GREEN (low). They expect an 65% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 fatalities, and a 96% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 10.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level GREEN (low). They expect an 100% likelyhood of between 0 and 1 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact.

Roughly 70 million people exposed to shaking

The USGS has published a report estimating the number of people exposed to this earthquake. Acoording to their analysis, roughly 70 million have been exposed to shaking at an MMI level of II or higher.

Strong shaking and probably light damage may have been experienced by an estimated 540 people. At VI, it is the highest MMI level this earthquake has caused. The majority of people (roughly 63 million) live in an area exposed to level III, where weak shaking and probably no damage is expected.

People in 3 countries have been exposed to shaking. In Nepal , around 20 million people, with impact levels up to VI (strong shaking, probably light damage). In India , around 50 million people. People were exposed to shaking in China as well.

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
1,696,000	II	Very weak	None
63,470,000	III	Weak	Probably none
5,070,000	IV	Light	Likely none
105,200	V	Moderate	Very light
540	VI	Strong	Light
0	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

Nepal and India are both located within 300km distance of the epicenter of the earthquake.

The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Dhulikhel in Bagmati Province, Nepal. Dhulikhel is located 48 kilometer (30 mi) east-northeast of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Dhulikhel is estimated to be around level IV on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (light shaking, likely no damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Kathmandu is located 65 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Patna is located 262 km to the south-southwest (intensity unknown, possibly low). Pātan is located 66 km to the west-southwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage).

The table below provides an overview of all places in proximity of today's earthquake. Where available, the estimated intensity on the Modified Mercalli Intensity Scale in each place is included. Places where this information is omitted likely experienced little impact.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
48 km (30 mi) WSW from epicenter	Dhulikhel Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
49 km (30 mi) WSW from epicenter	Banepā Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
52 km (32 mi) WSW from epicenter	Panauti Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
52 km (32 mi) WSW from epicenter	Panauti̇̄ Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
59 km (37 mi) WSW from epicenter	Madhyapur Thimi Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
65 km (40 mi) WSW from epicenter	Kathmandu Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
66 km (41 mi) WSW from epicenter	Pātan Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
70 km (43 mi) WSW from epicenter	Kirtipur Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
102 km (63 mi) WSW from epicenter	Hetauda Bagmati Province, Nepal.	IV Light
115 km (71 mi) SSW from epicenter	Malaṅgawā Province 2, Nepal.	IV Light
122 km (76 mi) S from epicenter	Janakpur Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
132 km (82 mi) S from epicenter	Siraha Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
132 km (82 mi) S from epicenter	Jaleshwar Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
132 km (82 mi) ESE from epicenter	Khā̃dbāri̇̄ Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
133 km (83 mi) SSE from epicenter	Lahān Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
136 km (85 mi) SSW from epicenter	Gaur Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
136 km (85 mi) SSE from epicenter	Triyuga Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
138 km (86 mi) S from epicenter	Jainagar Bihar, India.	III Weak
139 km (86 mi) SSW from epicenter	Bairāgnia Bihar, India.	III Weak
140 km (87 mi) SW from epicenter	Birgañj Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
145 km (90 mi) SSW from epicenter	Sītāmarhi Bihar, India.	III Weak
145 km (90 mi) SW from epicenter	Raxaul Bihar, India.	III Weak
151 km (94 mi) SSW from epicenter	Dhāka Bihar, India.	III Weak
152 km (94 mi) W from epicenter	Bharatpur Bagmati Province, Nepal.	III Weak
160 km (99 mi) SSW from epicenter	Sheohar Bihar, India.	III Weak
163 km (101 mi) SSE from epicenter	Rājbirāj Province 2, Nepal.	III Weak
164 km (102 mi) S from epicenter	Madhubani Bihar, India.	III Weak
167 km (104 mi) SW from epicenter	Mothīhāri Bihar, India.	III Weak
169 km (105 mi) SW from epicenter	Sagauli Bihar, India.	III Weak
172 km (107 mi) SE from epicenter	Dharān Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
176 km (109 mi) S from epicenter	Jhanjhārpur Bihar, India.	III Weak
178 km (111 mi) WSW from epicenter	Rāmnagar Bihar, India.	III Weak
179 km (111 mi) SE from epicenter	Inaruwa Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
183 km (114 mi) SE from epicenter	Īṭahari̇̄ Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
184 km (114 mi) SW from epicenter	Bettiah Bihar, India.	III Weak
186 km (116 mi) S from epicenter	Darbhanga Bihar, India.	III Weak
198 km (123 mi) SSW from epicenter	Muzaffarpur Bihar, India.	III Weak
200 km (124 mi) SSE from epicenter	Supaul Bihar, India.	III Weak
200 km (124 mi) SE from epicenter	Biratnagar Province 1, Nepal.	III Weak
202 km (126 mi) WSW from epicenter	Bagaha Bihar, India.	III Weak
202 km (126 mi) WNW from epicenter	Pokhara Gandaki Pradesh, Nepal.	II Weak
226 km (140 mi) SSE from epicenter	Saharsa Bihar, India.
248 km (154 mi) W from epicenter	Butwāl Lumbini Province, Nepal.
258 km (160 mi) SSW from epicenter	Chāpra Bihar, India.
260 km (162 mi) SSW from epicenter	Dinapore Bihar, India.
262 km (163 mi) SSW from epicenter	Patna Bihar, India.
267 km (166 mi) ESE from epicenter	Gangtok Sikkim, India.
272 km (169 mi) SE from epicenter	Purnia Bihar, India.
273 km (170 mi) ESE from epicenter	Siliguri West Bengal, India.
277 km (172 mi) S from epicenter	Monghyr Bihar, India.
283 km (176 mi) WSW from epicenter	Gorakhpur Uttar Pradesh, India.
284 km (176 mi) SSW from epicenter	Arrah Bihar, India.
295 km (183 mi) S from epicenter	Bihār Sharīf Bihar, India.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VI.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 317 people in 4 countries

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 317 people have reported shaking in 72 places in 4 countries (Thailand, Bangladesh, 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:

Kathmandu, Kathmandu, Nepal: 56 people.
Lalitpur, Lalitpur, Nepal: 33 people.
Shilīguri, Bangla, India: 32 people.
Tribuvannagar, Dang Deokhuri, Nepal: 25 people.
Bhaktapur, Bhaktapur, Nepal: 10 people.
Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal: 9 people.
Patna, Bihar, India: 9 people.
Itahari, Sunsari, Nepal: 7 people.
Uttar Bagdogra, Bangla, India: 7 people.
Pokharā, Kaski, Nepal: 7 people.

Risk of aftershocks?

We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

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

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 161 km (100 mi) further east-northeast. An even stronger magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck on April 25th, 2015.

In total, 14 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.5 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 9 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

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.

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

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	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.5. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 03/03/25 20:28 (). This article is automatically generated based on available data. We keep checking multiple sources for additional information. This article gets updated as new details on this earthquake become available.