Reviewed by USGSChina86y ago
M6.2 earthquake 106 km SSW of Laojunmiao, China
Saturday, April 19, 1941, 07:53:45 UTC · 38.985°N, 97.156°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 106 km SSW of Laojunmiao, China on Saturday, April 19, 1941, 07:53:45 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 25, 1932.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 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
28 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 59 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
1,011 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8108 km WSW of Laojunmiao, ChinaDecember 25, 1932 · 74 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5200 km S of Jiuquan, ChinaJuly 13, 1930 · 149 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.2161 km S of Laojunmiao, ChinaMarch 15, 1927 · 71 km S of this epicenter
- 6.1281 km WSW of Laojunmiao, ChinaSeptember 4, 1917 · 223 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0234 km SW of Zhangye, ChinaAugust 22, 1938 · 218 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.8188 km SSW of Laojunmiao, ChinaMarch 11, 1934 · 83 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.7northern Qinghai, ChinaMarch 31, 1933 · 205 km S of this epicenter
- 5.7northern Qinghai, ChinaNovember 29, 1935 · 294 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 2 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 311 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1932M7.6
Gansu Province
25 Dec 1932 · 89 km away · intensity X
275 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1785M6.0
Gansu Province: Huihuipu
18 Apr 1785 · 125 km away · intensity VIII
36 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.