Reviewed by USGSChina7h ago
M4.7 earthquake 5 km N of Bowangshan, China
Saturday, September 26, 2026, 18:31:42 UTC · 28.360°N, 105.055°E
A magnitude 4.7 earthquake struck 5 km N of Bowangshan, China on Saturday, September 26, 2026, 18:31:42 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.0 on September 25, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 4.7
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
169 tons of TNT
That is about 1/89 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 3 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
12 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Yangtze plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
10 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 113 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 76 km W of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 139 km W of this epicenter
- 6.872 km WSW of Xunchang, ChinaMay 10, 1974 · 103 km W of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 139 km W of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 275 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 160 km W of this epicenter
- 6.233 km WSW of Zhaotong, ChinaAugust 3, 2014 · 208 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.135 km SSE of Zhaotong, ChinaOctober 8, 1948 · 184 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 48 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 43,626 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 277 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 103 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 111 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2014M6.2
Yunnan: Ludian: Longtoushan, Zhaotong
3 Aug 2014 · 208 km away · intensity VII
615 deaths$5.0 billion damage
- 1933M5.0
Sichuan Province
20 Sep 1933 · 279 km away · intensity VI
200 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1935M6.0
Sichuan Province
18 Dec 1935 · 147 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)tsunami
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.