Reviewed by USGSChina105y ago
M7.0 earthquake 184 km NW of Kangding, China
Saturday, March 24, 1923, 12:40:17 UTC · 31.295°N, 100.750°E
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck 184 km NW of Kangding, China on Saturday, March 24, 1923, 12:40:17 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.1 on August 30, 1904.
- Magnitude
- 7.0
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
477 kilotons of TNT
That is about 32 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 1,000 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
481 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 200 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 200 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 4 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
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 11,982 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 33 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 13 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1870M7.3
Sichuan Province: Batang
11 Apr 1870 · 221 km away · intensity X
2,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1811M6.5
Sichuan Province: E. Of Ganze
27 Sep 1811 · 62 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 211 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 18 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.