Curious dry craters formed in the aftermath of a disastrous earthquake are explained. The Bhuj earthquake in January 2001, with a moment magnitude of 7.7, was one of the most disastrous in India's recorded history. Although its fault plane did not rupture the surface, the earthquake caused ground failure, including the formation of sand-blow craters and sand fissures, indicative of liquefaction of subsurface sediment, over an area of about 15,000 square kilometres1. Here we investigate the two large, dry craters that formed during the earthquake, and estimate the likely subsurface pressure at the time from a trajectory analysis of the ejected clasts. We conclude that the craters were created by explosive deformation of the ground that probably resulted from the delayed effects of soil liquefaction.