Reviewed by USGSChina108y ago
M6.7 earthquake 33 km SW of Kashgar, China
Thursday, July 24, 1919, 02:03:32 UTC · 39.268°N, 75.703°E
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck 33 km SW of Kashgar, China on Thursday, July 24, 1919, 02:03:32 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.2 on February 18, 1911.
- Magnitude
- 6.7
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 20 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
147 kilotons of TNT
That is about 10 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 309 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
579 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
20 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 5 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.7About 50 km NNE of Kashgar, Xinjiang, ChinaAugust 22, 1902 · 73 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.2120 km W of Murghob, TajikistanFebruary 18, 1911 · 290 km W of this epicenter
- 6.6107 km WNW of Murghob, TajikistanDecember 1, 1918 · 272 km W of this epicenter
- 6.194 km S of Shache, ChinaJuly 12, 1910 · 229 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.7144 km SE of At-Bashi, KyrgyzstanFebruary 29, 1916 · 179 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 5 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 6,032 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1902M7.7
Xinjiang, Turkestan
22 Aug 1902 · 73 km away · intensity X
5,653 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1911M7.2
Usoy, Barchidiv, Posor, Nisur
18 Feb 1911 · 290 km away
318 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1898M6.0
Xinjiang
21 Jun 1898 · 97 km away · intensity VIII
47 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1896M6.6
Xinjiang Province: Kashgar
1 Nov 1896 · 51 km away · intensity VIII
7 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1896M6.5
Xinjiang
5 Mar 1896 · 143 km away
7 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.