Reviewed by USGSChina90y ago
M5.6 earthquake 293 km N of Qamdo, China
Tuesday, January 4, 1938, 04:49:22 UTC · 33.766°N, 96.867°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 293 km N of Qamdo, China on Tuesday, January 4, 1938, 04:49:22 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on February 12, 1937.
- Magnitude
- 5.6
- Moderate · 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
625 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
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 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 8 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Southern Qinghai, ChinaJanuary 7, 1937 · 192 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5296 km NE of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 25, 1919 · 220 km E of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaApril 28, 1915 · 33 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1Southern Qinghai, ChinaMay 5, 1915 · 37 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.8Southern Qinghai, ChinaJanuary 7, 1937 · 208 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.7Southern Qinghai, ChinaFebruary 12, 1937 · 218 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.5291 km SW of Xining, ChinaNovember 16, 1937 · 259 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.3213 km NNW of Qamdo, ChinaSeptember 29, 1930 · 91 km S of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 3 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 424 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1738M6.5
Qinghai Province
1738 · 57 km away · intensity VIII
336 deaths
- 1834M5.5
Qinghai Province
1834 · 86 km away · intensity VII
88 deaths
- 1937M7.5
Qinghai Province
7 Jan 1937 · 204 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.