Reviewed by USGSChina97y ago
M5.9 earthquake 177 km W of Kangding, China
Sunday, August 24, 1930, 10:51:15 UTC · 29.878°N, 100.128°E
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck 177 km W of Kangding, China on Sunday, August 24, 1930, 10:51:15 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on October 20, 1923.
- Magnitude
- 5.9
- 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
9 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/2 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 19 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
334 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 9 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 101 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 168 km N of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 72 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.5128 km NNW of Kangding, ChinaMay 29, 1919 · 197 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.3177 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaOctober 20, 1923 · 57 km N of this epicenter
- 5.780 km SW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 11, 1926 · 118 km E of this epicenter
- 5.7165 km NNW of Shangri-La, ChinaMay 24, 1929 · 127 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.6125 km N of Kangding, ChinaJuly 2, 1927 · 228 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 15 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 12,252 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 199 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 178 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 110 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1811M6.5
Sichuan Province: E. Of Ganze
27 Sep 1811 · 203 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 190 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 165 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.