M6.3 earthquake 262 km SSE of Dunhuang, China

Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 09:06:55 UTC · 37.888°N, 95.492°E

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck 262 km SSE of Dunhuang, China on Tuesday, June 16, 2026, 09:06:55 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 1 “Did You Feel It?” report, with a maximum reported intensity of I (not felt). The USGS PAGER alert is orange: significant casualties and damage are likely. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.3 on August 28, 2009.

Magnitude: 6.3; Strong · mww
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 1; Max intensity I
Est. shaking: VIII; Severe (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Orange; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

43 kilotons of TNT

That is about 3 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 89 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

1,073 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

1 people reported feeling this earthquake to USGS; a per-place breakdown is not available 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 orange: significant casualties and damage are likely.

VII · Very strong shaking: 7,400 people
V · Moderate shaking: 8,900 people
IV · Light shaking: 422,000 people
III · Weak shaking: 30,000 people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

GolmudPopulation 215,000IV · Light
DangchengPopulation 9,800IV · Light
HongliuwanPopulation 10,000IV · Light
Qagan UsPopulation 21,000IV · Light

After the main event

Aftershocks within 100 km

USGS lists 31 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.4 on June 16, 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 117 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 · 227 km away · intensity X
275 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2002M5.5
Gansu Province: Yumne
14 Dec 2002 · 266 km away
2 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
2004M5.4
Qinghai Province: Delingha
4 May 2004 · 119 km away
Severe damage ($5–24M)
2008M6.3
Qinghai Province
10 Nov 2008 · 47 km away
$4 million damage
1963M7.0
Qinghai Province
19 Apr 1963 · 278 km away · intensity VIII
Limited damage (under $1M)
1962M6.8
Qinghai Province
21 May 1962 · 98 km away
Limited damage (under $1M)

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

Nearby trackers