October 29, 2009 Earthquake: Mongar, Pemagatsel, Tashigang, Bhutan
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Mongar, Pemagatsel, Tashigang, Bhutan on October 29, 2009 at 17:00:38 UTC, 26 km below the surface.
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
- October 29, 2009
- Time
- 17:00:38 UTC
- Place
- Mongar, Pemagatsel, Tashigang, Bhutan
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 26 km (16 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 27.262° N, 91.417° E
- Country
- Bhutan
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 1
- Houses damaged
- 1; 116 with its tsunami and other effects
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.
At least one building collapsed and 116 damaged
in Mongar, Pemagatsel and Tashigang. Felt strongly in
eastern Bhutan and as far west as Thimphu. Felt at
Dispur, Guwahati and North Guwahati, India. Also felt
in Meghalaya. Felt in northern Bangladesh. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 12, 1897, Assam, Bangladesh, India
- June 11, 1806, Shannan (Lhoka), Tibet (Xizang Province), China
- September 21, 2009, Tashigang, Bhutan
- April 28, 2021, Assam, India
- September 12, 2018, West Bengal, India
- December 31, 2009, Dametsi, Bhutan
- February 23, 2006, Tashigang, Bhutan
- June 28, 2015, Kokrajhar, India
- 1713, Arunachal, Bhutan, India
- May 11, 2012, Kamrup, Guwahati, Assam, India
More
Significant earthquakes of 2009The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2009Recent 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 8772.