Reviewed by USGSChina79y ago
M5.9 earthquake 29 km ESE of Zhaotong, China
Sunday, October 10, 1948, 02:06:46 UTC · 27.245°N, 104.006°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 29 km ESE of Zhaotong, China on Sunday, October 10, 1948, 02:06:46 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.1 on October 8, 1948.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- Moderate · 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
12 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 25 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
108 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 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 16 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 · 132 km N of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 156 km N of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 156 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 188 km N of this epicenter
- 6.135 km SSE of Zhaotong, ChinaOctober 8, 1948 · 24 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.061 km N of Kunming, ChinaMarch 14, 1927 · 221 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.0eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 210 km N of this epicenter
- 6.080 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaNovember 6, 1940 · 166 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 32,287 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 · 249 km away · intensity XI
6,700 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 220 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 84 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1725M6.0
Yunnan Province: Songming, Yiliang
8 Jan 1725 · 255 km away · intensity VIII
614 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M5.0
Sichuan Province
20 Sep 1933 · 291 km away · intensity VI
200 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.