Reviewed by USGSChina100y ago
M5.5 earthquake in Qinghai-Sichuan border region, China
Thursday, August 25, 1927, 22:56:46 UTC · 32.615°N, 100.926°E
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck in Qinghai-Sichuan border region, China on Thursday, August 25, 1927, 22:56:46 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.6 on July 2, 1927.
- Magnitude
- 5.5
- 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
3 kilotons of TNT
That is about 1/5 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 6 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
596 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 · 217 km S of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 148 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5128 km NNW of Kangding, ChinaMay 29, 1919 · 178 km S of this epicenter
- 6.5296 km NE of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 25, 1919 · 180 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3177 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaOctober 20, 1923 · 257 km S of this epicenter
- 5.6125 km N of Kangding, ChinaJuly 2, 1927 · 194 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 12 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 9,247 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 124 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 137 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1811M6.5
Sichuan Province: E. Of Ganze
27 Sep 1811 · 118 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1904M6.0
Sichuan Province
30 Aug 1904 · 157 km away · intensity VIII
400 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1893M6.8
Sichuan Province
29 Aug 1893 · 241 km away · intensity IX
288 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1792M6.0
Sichuan Province: N Of Qianning
7 Sep 1792 · 188 km away · intensity VIII
205 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.