M5.4 earthquake 21 km WNW of Jiangyou, China

Thursday, September 3, 2026, 11:39:41 UTC · 31.846°N, 104.507°E

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck 21 km WNW of Jiangyou, China on Thursday, September 3, 2026, 11:39:41 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). USGS received 6 “Did You Feel It?” reports, with a maximum reported intensity of III (weak). The USGS PAGER alert is yellow: some casualties and damage are possible. It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.5 on January 26, 2026.

Magnitude: 5.4; Moderate · mb
Depth: 10 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 6; Max intensity III
Est. shaking: VI; Strong (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: Yellow; Impact estimate
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

2 kilotons of TNT

That is about 1/8 of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 4 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

331 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

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

Reports sent by people to USGS, grouped by place (most reports first). Intensity uses the Modified Mercalli scale (I–X): what people felt, not the magnitude.

Place	Intensity	Reports	Distance
Deyang, Sichuan, China	III · Weak	1	80 km
Xian, Shaanxi, China	II · Weak	1	490 km
Dawan, Sichuan, China	II · Weak	1	107 km
Mianyang, Sichuan, China	II · Weak	1	49 km
Nanchong, Sichuan, China	II · Weak	1	194 km

I felt it — report to USGS ↗

USGS PAGER estimate

Who was exposed to shaking

Modelled from the ShakeMap and population data. Alert level yellow: some casualties and damage are possible.

VI · Strong shaking: 39,000 people
V · Moderate shaking: 559,000 people
IV · Light shaking: 14 million people
III · Weak shaking: 31 million people
II · Weak shaking: 1.8 million people

Estimated shaking in nearby towns

ZhongbaPopulation 762,000V · Moderate
MianyangPopulation 4.9 millionIV · Light
JiannanPopulation 478,000IV · Light
DeyangPopulation 3.9 millionIV · Light
FangtingPopulation 413,000IV · Light
LuochengPopulation 591,000IV · Light
ChengduPopulation 15 millionIV · Light
MeishanPopulation 3.0 millionIII · Weak

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 141 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 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120,172 recorded deaths. The most severe:

2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 143 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
1879M8.0
Gansu Province
1 Jul 1879 · 152 km away · intensity XI
22,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 80 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1881M6.5
Gansu Province
20 Jul 1881 · 195 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
1792M6.0
Sichuan Province: N Of Qianning
7 Sep 1792 · 300 km away · intensity VIII
205 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
2013M6.6
Sichuan Province: Longmen
20 Apr 2013 · 230 km away
196 deaths$6.8 billion damage

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

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