Reviewed by USGSChina93y ago
M6.5 earthquake 176 km NNW of Rikaze, China
Thursday, January 3, 1935, 01:50:11 UTC · 30.768°N, 88.344°E
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 176 km NNW of Rikaze, China on Thursday, January 3, 1935, 01:50:11 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.3 on December 15, 1934.
- Magnitude
- 6.5
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
82 kilotons of TNT
That is about 5 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 172 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
422 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 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 10 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.3200 km NW of Dêqên, ChinaDecember 15, 1934 · 89 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0246 km NNW of Rikaze, ChinaAugust 20, 1908 · 80 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.6147 km NW of Dêqên, ChinaOctober 8, 1924 · 120 km E of this epicenter
- 6.3western XizangMarch 6, 1913 · 245 km N of this epicenter
- 6.275 km NNW of Dêqên, ChinaOctober 14, 1921 · 196 km E of this epicenter
- 5.929 km NNW of Dêqên, ChinaAugust 13, 1924 · 229 km E of this epicenter
- 5.8187 km NW of Dêqên, ChinaDecember 18, 1934 · 99 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.7168 km N of Rikaze, ChinaDecember 14, 1934 · 35 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 1 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700. The most severe:
- 1834M6.0
Tibet (Xizang Province)
1834 · 269 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.