Reviewed by USGSChina100y ago
M5.6 earthquake 29 km SSW of Wuwei, China
Tuesday, May 24, 1927, 16:01:34 UTC · 37.674°N, 102.546°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 29 km SSW of Wuwei, China on Tuesday, May 24, 1927, 16:01:34 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.8 on May 23, 1927.
- 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
777 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 10 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 · 5 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0139 km ENE of Baiyin, ChinaDecember 25, 1920 · 263 km E of this epicenter
- 6.275 km WNW of Xining, ChinaApril 12, 1921 · 170 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.1138 km SSW of Yinchuan, ChinaDecember 28, 1920 · 255 km E of this epicenter
- 6.077 km SE of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 73 km E of this epicenter
- 6.0116 km SW of Yinchuan, ChinaJanuary 7, 1921 · 258 km E of this epicenter
- 6.075 km WSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 23, 1927 · 61 km W of this epicenter
- 5.9170 km ENE of Jinchang, ChinaMarch 22, 1918 · 200 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 9 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 288,872 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1920M8.3
Gansu Province, Shanxi Province
16 Dec 1920 · 273 km away · intensity XII
235,502 deaths$25 million damagetsunami
- 1927M7.7
Gansu Province
22 May 1927 · 5 km away · intensity XI
40,912 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 170 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1709M7.5
Ningxia
14 Oct 1709 · 245 km away · intensity X
2,032 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1852M6.0
Ningxia
26 May 1852 · 235 km away · intensity VIII
300 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1819M5.8
Qinghai Province
24 Feb 1819 · 176 km away · intensity VII
126 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.