Reviewed by USGSChina1h ago
M5.0 earthquake 191 km NW of Oula Xiuma, China
Sunday, September 27, 2026, 16:43:10 UTC · 35.386°N, 99.554°E
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 191 km NW of Oula Xiuma, China on Sunday, September 27, 2026, 16:43:10 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.1 on July 28, 2026.
- Magnitude
- 5.0
- Moderate · 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
477 tons of TNT
That is about 1/32 of the Hiroshima bomb. Each whole step in magnitude is about 32 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
832 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
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 75 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 75 km since this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 76 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Southern Qinghai, ChinaJanuary 7, 1937 · 163 km W of this epicenter
- 7.6Qinghai-Sichuan border region, ChinaMarch 17, 1947 · 210 km S of this epicenter
- 7.3Southern Qinghai, ChinaMay 21, 2021 · 147 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.7Southern Qinghai, ChinaApril 19, 1963 · 233 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5153 km WSW of Xining, ChinaApril 26, 1990 · 91 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5296 km NE of Qamdo, ChinaAugust 25, 1919 · 244 km S of this epicenter
- 6.3Southern Qinghai, ChinaJuly 26, 1935 · 277 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.3148 km WSW of Xining, ChinaApril 26, 1990 · 98 km NE 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 10,423 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 204 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2023M5.9
Gansu Province: Jishishan
18 Dec 2023 · 299 km away
151 deaths$2.0 billion damage
- 1990M6.9
Qinghai Province: Ganghe-Xinghai
26 Apr 1990 · 91 km away
126 deaths$58 million damage
- 1819M5.8
Qinghai Province
24 Feb 1819 · 260 km away · intensity VII
126 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 2021M7.3
Qinghai Province
21 May 2021 · 148 km away · intensity IX
20 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 2020M5.4
Qinghai Province
1 Apr 2020 · 258 km away
$11 million damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.