June 26, 1941 Earthquake: Colombo, Andaman Islands,madras, Sri Lanka, India
A magnitude 8 earthquake struck Colombo, Andaman Islands,madras, Sri Lanka, India on June 26, 1941 at 11:52:03 UTC, 20 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- June 26, 1941
- Time
- 11:52:03 UTC
- Place
- Colombo, Andaman Islands,madras, Sri Lanka, India
- Magnitude
- 8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 11.940° N, 92.626° E
- Country
- India
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
June 26, 1941, 12.5 N, 92.5 E. A few people killed and injured. Extensive damage to buildings in the Andamans. Felt over Colombo, Madras, Calcutta and Bombay. In and around Port Blair most of the masonry structures suffered from cracks in the walls and roofs. A number of buildings partially or totally collapsed. Extensive damage was done to roads, bridges, embankments, sea walls and jetties. Fissures in the ground appeared at several places. At a place on the western coast of Baratang island, about 35 miles north of Port Blair, a tree having firth of about 5 feet at breast, having a girth of about 5 feet at breast height, was uprooted and fell westward. Several trees of similar girth were first tilted at an angle of about 30 deg in the same direction and later fell down. Aftershocks, moderate to slight intensity, were recorded til the end of August, 1941. (reference #1185)
June 26, 1941, 12.5 N, 92.5 E, magnitude 8.1. Ruinous in the Andaman islands, more intense near Bartang Island. Islands of Colebrook, Baratang, Porlob and bajalungto probably subsided at least 2 feet. Felt over an oarea of 2,000,000 sq miles. (reference #1100)
June 26, 1941, 12.5 N, 92.5 E, depth 60 km, magnitude 8.1. (reference #1212)
June 26, 1941, 11:52 UTC, 12.8 N, 92.7 E. (reference #45)
June 26, 1941, 11:52:06.63 UTC, 12.149 N, 92.478 E, depth 49.1, Mw 7.7, Ms 7.7 (reference #9910)
June 26, 1941, 11:52:03.67 UTC, 11.94 N, 92.626 E, depth 20, Mw 7.96 (reference #10476)
12.21 N, 92.55 E (reference #12507)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1941The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1941Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 3681.