Reviewed by USGSChina60y ago
M5.9 earthquake 42 km SSE of Chengdu, China
Tuesday, January 24, 1967, 14:45:16 UTC · 30.296°N, 104.193°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 42 km SSE of Chengdu, China on Tuesday, January 24, 1967, 14:45:16 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on November 9, 1960.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
203 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Yangtze 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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 29 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 191 km N of this epicenter
- 7.119 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaApril 14, 1955 · 237 km W of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 194 km S of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 194 km S of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 280 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5128 km NNW of Kangding, ChinaMay 29, 1919 · 265 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3146 km NW of Jiangyou, ChinaNovember 9, 1960 · 273 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 30 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12,843 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 191 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 256 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 209 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.8
Sichuan Province
29 Aug 1893 · 259 km away · intensity IX
288 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1792M6.0
Sichuan Province: N Of Qianning
7 Sep 1792 · 269 km away · intensity VIII
205 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1793M6.0
Sichuan Province: Near Qianning
15 May 1793 · 260 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.