Reviewed by USGSChina100y ago
M5.7 earthquake 83 km E of Xining, China
Sunday, May 22, 1927, 21:43:17 UTC · 36.687°N, 102.688°E
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck 83 km E of Xining, China on Sunday, May 22, 1927, 21:43:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.2 on April 12, 1921.
- 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
5 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/3 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 11 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
863 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 6 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 · 259 km E of this epicenter
- 7.0139 km ENE of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 25, 1920 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 6.275 km WNW of Xining, ChinaApril 12, 1921 · 155 km W of this epicenter
- 6.1138 km SSW of Yinchuan, ChinaDecember 28, 1920 · 256 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0116 km SW of Yinchuan, ChinaJanuary 7, 1921 · 268 km NE of this epicenter
- 5.9170 km ENE of Jinchang, ChinaMarch 22, 1918 · 288 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 13 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 363,977 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1920M8.3
Gansu Province, Shanxi Province
16 Dec 1920 · 235 km away · intensity XII
235,502 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1718M7.5
Gansu Province
19 Jun 1718 · 294 km away · intensity X
73,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1927M7.7
Gansu Province
22 May 1927 · 110 km away · intensity XI
40,912 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 155 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1765M6.5
Gansu Province: Wushan, Gangu
2 Sep 1765 · 296 km away · intensity IX
2,068 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1709M7.5
Ningxia
14 Oct 1709 · 245 km away · intensity X
2,032 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.