Reviewed by USGSChina13y ago
M4.0 earthquake 33 km WSW of Linqiong, China
Friday, April 26, 2013, 07:31:08 UTC · 30.288°N, 103.150°E
A magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck 33 km WSW of Linqiong, China on Friday, April 26, 2013, 07:31:08 UTC, at a depth of 10.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.0
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 11 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
15 tons of TNT
That is about 1/998 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
272 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
11 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 50 km
USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on May 11, 2013. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.339 km W of Linqiong, China13y ago · 11 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.449 km WSW of Linqiong, China13y ago · 17 km W of this epicenter
- 4.646 km W of Linqiong, China13y ago · 17 km W of this epicenter
- 4.248 km WSW of Linqiong, China13y ago · 16 km W of this epicenter
- 4.035 km WSW of Linqiong, China13y ago · 4 km NW of this epicenter
- 4.445 km W of Linqiong, China13y ago · 16 km NW of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 183 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.958 km W of Tianpeng, ChinaMay 12, 2008 · 81 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4203 km NW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 6, 1973 · 275 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 192 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3151 km W of Kangding, ChinaMay 25, 1948 · 266 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 248 km W of this epicenter
- 7.119 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaApril 14, 1955 · 139 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 255 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 237 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 49 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 150,375 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 80 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 289 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 243 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 192 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 245 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 265 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.