Reviewed by USGSChina72y ago
M7.1 earthquake 19 km WSW of Kangding, China
Thursday, April 14, 1955, 01:29:04 UTC · 29.957°N, 101.759°E
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck 19 km WSW of Kangding, China on Thursday, April 14, 1955, 01:29:04 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on May 25, 1948.
- Magnitude
- 7.1
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 10 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (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
651 kilotons of TNT
That is about 43 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,365 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
373 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
10 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 33 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 · 287 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3151 km W of Kangding, ChinaMay 25, 1948 · 133 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 137 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 177 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 300 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 238 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 125 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 43,558 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 246 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 287 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 186 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 190 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 266 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1948M7.3
Sichuan Province
25 May 1948 · 132 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.