Reviewed by USGSChina75y ago
M6.1 earthquake 29 km SE of Kangding, China
Wednesday, June 25, 1952, 23:19:54 UTC · 29.796°N, 102.155°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 29 km SE of Kangding, China on Wednesday, June 25, 1952, 23:19:54 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
- 6.1
- 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
24 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 51 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
332 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 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 28 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 · 280 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3151 km W of Kangding, ChinaMay 25, 1948 · 174 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 178 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 214 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 258 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 153 km W of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 197 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 43,058 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 222 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 280 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 219 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 226 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 269 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1948M7.3
Sichuan Province
25 May 1948 · 163 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.