Reviewed by USGSChina97y ago
M5.6 earthquake 84 km NE of Pingliang, China
Wednesday, July 23, 1930, 18:53:18 UTC · 36.146°N, 107.245°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 84 km NE of Pingliang, China on Wednesday, July 23, 1930, 18:53:18 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.0 on January 7, 1921.
- 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
4 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/4 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 8 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
538 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 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.9125 km E of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 16, 1920 · 153 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0139 km ENE of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 25, 1920 · 200 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.1138 km SSW of Yinchuan, ChinaDecember 28, 1920 · 215 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.0116 km SW of Yinchuan, ChinaJanuary 7, 1921 · 227 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 10 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 313,022 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1920M8.3
Gansu Province, Shanxi Province
16 Dec 1920 · 180 km away · intensity XII
235,502 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1718M7.5
Gansu Province
19 Jun 1718 · 225 km away · intensity X
73,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1765M6.5
Gansu Province: Wushan, Gangu
2 Sep 1765 · 252 km away · intensity IX
2,068 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1709M7.5
Ningxia
14 Oct 1709 · 222 km away · intensity X
2,032 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1852M6.0
Ningxia
26 May 1852 · 236 km away · intensity VIII
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1885M6.0
Gansu Province
14 Jan 1885 · 231 km away · intensity VIII
80 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.