Reviewed by USGSChina79y ago
M6.1 earthquake 35 km SSE of Zhaotong, China
Friday, October 8, 1948, 19:02:00 UTC · 27.050°N, 103.908°E
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck 35 km SSE of Zhaotong, China on Friday, October 8, 1948, 19:02:00 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on May 16, 1936.
- Magnitude
- 6.1
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
19 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 39 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
123 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
35 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on October 10, 1948. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 15 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 155 km N of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 176 km N of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 175 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 208 km N of this epicenter
- 6.061 km N of Kunming, ChinaMarch 14, 1927 · 198 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 228 km N of this epicenter
- 6.080 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaNovember 6, 1940 · 186 km N of this epicenter
- 5.993 km SW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 27, 1936 · 191 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 32,123 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 179 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1833M8.0
Yunnan Province
6 Sep 1833 · 225 km away · intensity XI
6,700 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 197 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 106 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1725M6.0
Yunnan Province: Songming, Yiliang
8 Jan 1725 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
614 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1935M6.0
Sichuan Province
18 Dec 1935 · 186 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.