Reviewed by USGSChina94y ago
M5.7 earthquake northern Qinghai, China
Friday, March 31, 1933, 21:59:33 UTC · 37.144°N, 97.260°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck northern Qinghai, China on Friday, March 31, 1933, 21:59:33 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 25, 1932.
- Magnitude
- 5.7
- 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
6 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 12 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
1,000 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 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 6 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8108 km WSW of Laojunmiao, ChinaDecember 25, 1932 · 265 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5200 km S of Jiuquan, ChinaJuly 13, 1930 · 124 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.2161 km S of Laojunmiao, ChinaMarch 15, 1927 · 140 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1northern Qinghai, ChinaFebruary 4, 1918 · 230 km W of this epicenter
- 5.7northern Qinghai, ChinaMarch 26, 1930 · 169 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.6140 km SW of Laojunmiao, ChinaDecember 25, 1932 · 212 km N 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 275 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1932M7.6
Gansu Province
25 Dec 1932 · 288 km away · intensity X
275 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.