Reviewed by USGSChina98y ago
M5.6 earthquake 103 km NW of Xining, China
Tuesday, April 2, 1929, 03:26:28 UTC · 37.383°N, 101.078°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 103 km NW of Xining, China on Tuesday, April 2, 1929, 03:26:28 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on March 7, 1928.
- 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 9 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
879 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Amur and Eurasian 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:
- 7.731 km SSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 22, 1927 · 129 km E of this epicenter
- 6.350 km SW of Wuwei, ChinaMarch 7, 1928 · 100 km E of this epicenter
- 6.275 km WNW of Xining, ChinaApril 12, 1921 · 63 km S of this epicenter
- 6.077 km SE of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 201 km E of this epicenter
- 6.075 km WSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 74 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.039 km SW of Jinchang, ChinaJune 23, 1927 · 119 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.886 km WSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 64 km E of this epicenter
- 5.783 km E of Xining, ChinaMay 22, 1927 · 163 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 6 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 51,038 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1927M7.7
Gansu Province
22 May 1927 · 129 km away · intensity XI
40,912 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 63 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1819M5.8
Qinghai Province
24 Feb 1819 · 179 km away · intensity VII
126 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1888
Gansu Province
2 Nov 1888 · 278 km away · intensity VIII
Severe damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M5.5
Qinghai Province
1 Jun 1893 · 108 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1888M5.0
Qinghai Province
11 Mar 1888 · 140 km away · intensity VI
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.