Reviewed by USGSChina93y ago
M5.6 earthquake 203 km NW of Dêqên, China
Friday, December 21, 1934, 06:34:41 UTC · 31.177°N, 89.124°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 203 km NW of Dêqên, China on Friday, December 21, 1934, 06:34:41 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on December 18, 1934.
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
459 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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.6 on December 21, 1934. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 9 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 · 4 km SE of this epicenter
- 7.0246 km NNW of Rikaze, ChinaAugust 20, 1908 · 137 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6147 km NW of Dêqên, ChinaOctober 8, 1924 · 56 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3western XizangMarch 6, 1913 · 246 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.275 km NNW of Dêqên, ChinaOctober 14, 1921 · 137 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.1237 km NW of Nagqu, ChinaAugust 31, 1925 · 234 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.929 km NNW of Dêqên, ChinaAugust 13, 1924 · 181 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.8187 km NW of Dêqên, ChinaDecember 18, 1934 · 17 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, which together caused about 170 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1915M7.0
Tibet (Xizang Province)
3 Dec 1915 · 295 km away · intensity IX
170 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.