Reviewed by USGSMyanmar89y ago
M6.2 earthquake 139 km N of Kēng Tung, Myanmar
Saturday, May 14, 1938, 12:03:13 UTC · 22.881°N, 99.774°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 139 km N of Kēng Tung, Myanmar on Saturday, May 14, 1938, 12:03:13 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on January 12, 1934.
- 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
26 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 55 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
396 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian 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 12 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.362 km S of Bhamo, MyanmarFebruary 17, 1905 · 281 km W of this epicenter
- 7.399 km E of Lashio, MyanmarJune 22, 1923 · 109 km W of this epicenter
- 6.833 km WSW of Yuxi, ChinaDecember 21, 1913 · 294 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.231 km SSE of Jinghong, ChinaJuly 1, 1923 · 168 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.245 km SSW of Yuxi, ChinaJanuary 12, 1934 · 297 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.7149 km SW of Dali, ChinaDecember 5, 1926 · 181 km N of this epicenter
- 5.791 km ESE of Myitkyina, MyanmarJune 5, 1930 · 295 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.7136 km ESE of Myitkyina, MyanmarApril 2, 1931 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 4,925 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1799M6.5
Yunnan Province
27 Aug 1799 · 287 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1887M6.8
Yunnan Province
16 Dec 1887 · 293 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1814M6.0
Yunnan Province: Siping
24 Nov 1814 · 293 km away · intensity VIII
900 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1884M6.5
Yunnan Province
14 Nov 1884 · 136 km away · intensity VIII
17 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1927M5.0
Yunnan Province: Xinping
20 Mar 1927 · 264 km away · intensity VI
7 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1906M5.3
Yunnan Province
May 1906 · 225 km away · intensity VII
1 deathModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.