Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Great Assam earthquake of 12 June 1897

When
1897
Where
Assam, British India; Assam and Calcutta; Calcutta; Assam
Episodes
4

The Great Assam earthquake occurred on 12 June 1897 in British India, with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3. It caused significant structural damage in Calcutta and uplifted the Shillong Plateau by approximately 11 meters. Aftershocks continued until October 1897, and seismic analysis provided early evidence of distinct wave types.

Episodes

  1. 1897 · AssamSeismic Analysis

    Richard Dixon Oldham analyzed seismic records, reporting evidence of different types of seismic waves.

  2. 12 June 1897 · Assam, British IndiaMain Shock

    The earthquake struck Assam on 12 June 1897 at 11:06 UTC with an estimated moment magnitude of 8.2–8.3.

  3. 12 June 1897 to 9 October 1897 · Assam and CalcuttaAftershocks

    Dozens of aftershocks were felt in the region, with the last event recorded on 9 October 1897 in Calcutta.

  4. 12 June 1897 · CalcuttaCalcutta Damage

    Damage extended into Calcutta, where dozens of buildings were severely damaged, with some partially collapsing.

Background and detail

Background. The event took place on 12 June 1897 at 11:06 UTC in Assam, British India. The estimated moment magnitude was 8.2–8.3, differing from the legacy estimate of 8.0. The earthquake resulted in violent upward thrust of the Shillong Plateau by about 11 meters, indicating significant geological displacement.

Damage. Damage extended beyond Assam into Calcutta, where dozens of buildings were severely damaged and some partially collapsed. The event generated dozens of aftershocks in the region, with the last recorded aftershock occurring on 9 October 1897 at 01:40 UT in Calcutta.

Analysis. Richard Dixon Oldham, Superintendent of the Geological Survey of India, analyzed seismic records, primarily from Italian stations. His work reported the first clear evidence of different types of seismic waves traveling through the earth on different paths and at different speeds.

People involved

Sources

  1. 1897 Assam earthquake Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-27

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.