M5.6 earthquake 269 km SSE of Dunhuang, China

Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 21:36:27 UTC · 37.836°N, 95.545°E

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck 269 km SSE of Dunhuang, China on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, 21:36:27 UTC, at a depth of 6.0 km (shallow). The USGS PAGER alert is green: low likelihood of casualties and damage. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on June 16, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.6; Moderate · mww
Depth: 6 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VII; Very strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Green; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 75 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

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

1,068 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

6 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

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level green: low likelihood of casualties and damage.

V · Moderate shaking: 8,000 people
IV · Light shaking: 14,000 people
III · Weak shaking: 345,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

GolmudPopulation 215,000III · Weak
DangchengPopulation 9,800III · Weak

After the main event

Aftershocks within 75 km

USGS lists 6 M2.5+ earthquakes within 75 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.1 on September 3, 2026. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 125 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 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 277 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1932M7.6
Gansu Province
25 Dec 1932 · 230 km away · intensity X
275 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2002M5.5
Gansu Province: Yumne
14 Dec 2002 · 268 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2004M5.4
Qinghai Province: Delingha
4 May 2004 · 113 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
2008M6.3
Qinghai Province
10 Nov 2008 · 39 km away
$4 million damage
1963M7.0
Qinghai Province
19 Apr 1963 · 271 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
1962M6.8
Qinghai Province
21 May 1962 · 91 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)

NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.

Nearby trackers