Reviewed by USGSChina100y ago
M5.6 earthquake 125 km N of Kangding, China
Saturday, July 2, 1927, 20:39:04 UTC · 31.133°N, 102.016°E
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 125 km N of Kangding, China on Saturday, July 2, 1927, 20:39:04 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.7 on August 11, 1926.
- 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
414 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 6 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 · 143 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 122 km W of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 233 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.5128 km NNW of Kangding, ChinaMay 29, 1919 · 40 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3177 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaOctober 20, 1923 · 195 km SW of this epicenter
- 5.780 km SW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 11, 1926 · 188 km S 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 9,682 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 105 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 129 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1811M6.5
Sichuan Province: E. Of Ganze
27 Sep 1811 · 175 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 148 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 106 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1893M6.8
Sichuan Province
29 Aug 1893 · 86 km away · intensity IX
288 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.