Reviewed by USGSChina94y ago
M6.2 earthquake 45 km SSW of Yuxi, China
Friday, January 12, 1934, 13:32:00 UTC · 23.950°N, 102.446°E
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 45 km SSW of Yuxi, China on Friday, January 12, 1934, 13:32:00 UTC, at a depth of 35.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.8 on March 16, 1925.
- Magnitude
- 6.2
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 35 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
27 kilotons of TNT
That is about 2 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 57 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
389 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
35 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 7 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.824 km NE of Dali, ChinaMarch 16, 1925 · 290 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.833 km WSW of Yuxi, ChinaDecember 21, 1913 · 41 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.231 km SSE of Jinghong, ChinaJuly 1, 1923 · 299 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.061 km N of Kunming, ChinaMarch 14, 1927 · 185 km N of this epicenter
- 6.072 km ENE of Dali, ChinaMay 14, 1930 · 261 km NW of this epicenter
- 5.919 km SW of Shilin, ChinaMarch 22, 1929 · 112 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.68 km E of Dadukou, ChinaAugust 6, 1926 · 297 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 27 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 22,853 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1833M8.0
Yunnan Province
6 Sep 1833 · 150 km away · intensity XI
6,700 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 290 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 178 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1799M6.5
Yunnan Province
27 Aug 1799 · 17 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1887M6.8
Yunnan Province
16 Dec 1887 · 28 km away · intensity IX
2,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1763M6.5
Yunnan Province
30 Dec 1763 · 53 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.