Reviewed by USGSChina120y ago
M6.8 earthquake 143 km WSW of Kangding, China
Sunday, February 9, 1908, 18:13:17 UTC · 29.405°N, 100.637°E
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck 143 km WSW of Kangding, China on Sunday, February 9, 1908, 18:13:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on August 30, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 6.8
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
256 kilotons of TNT
That is about 17 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 537 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
351 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 1 M5.0+ earthquake within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 27,902 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 241 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 222 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 171 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1811M6.5
Sichuan Province: E. Of Ganze
27 Sep 1811 · 257 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 148 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 201 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.