Reviewed by USGSChina74y ago
M6.0 earthquake 30 km WSW of Qamdo, China
Thursday, April 23, 1953, 03:53:37 UTC · 31.049°N, 96.874°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 30 km WSW of Qamdo, China on Thursday, April 23, 1953, 03:53:37 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on March 17, 1951.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 10 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
16 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 34 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
325 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
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 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 30 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.3136 km NNE of Pāsighāt, IndiaAugust 18, 1950 · 227 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.3167 km NNE of Shi Yomi, IndiaNovember 21, 1938 · 211 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.236 km SSE of Qamdo, ChinaMarch 17, 1951 · 52 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.185 km NNE of Pāsighāt, IndiaDecember 3, 1950 · 278 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1167 km SSW of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 18, 1950 · 151 km S of this epicenter
- 6.097 km NE of Shi Yomi, IndiaAugust 23, 1950 · 272 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0190 km NE of Shi Yomi, IndiaAugust 22, 1950 · 180 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.9157 km SSW of Qamdo, ChinaSeptember 2, 1950 · 144 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 4 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,254 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 235 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1950M8.6
India-China
15 Aug 1950 · 286 km away · intensity XI
1,530 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1738M6.5
Qinghai Province
1738 · 252 km away · intensity VIII
336 deaths
- 1834M5.5
Qinghai Province
1834 · 217 km away · intensity VII
88 deaths
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.