Reviewed by USGSChina92y ago
M5.6 earthquake 89 km SW of Luocheng, China
Thursday, December 19, 1935, 13:26:47 UTC · 28.786°N, 103.418°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 89 km SW of Luocheng, China on Thursday, December 19, 1935, 13:26:47 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on December 18, 1935.
- 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
3 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
177 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
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 7 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 · 95 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 279 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 16 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.0eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 30 km N of this epicenter
- 5.780 km SW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 11, 1926 · 224 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.68 km E of Dadukou, ChinaAugust 6, 1926 · 296 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.6125 km N of Kangding, ChinaJuly 2, 1927 · 294 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 20 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 24,046 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 155 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 104 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 170 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.8
Sichuan Province
29 Aug 1893 · 266 km away · intensity IX
288 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1793M6.0
Sichuan Province: Near Qianning
15 May 1793 · 274 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1932M6.0
Sichuan Province
6 Mar 1932 · 214 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.