Reviewed by USGSChina12y ago
M4.5 earthquake 31 km SW of Zhaotong, China
Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 05:05:43 UTC · 27.132°N, 103.474°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 31 km SW of Zhaotong, China on Wednesday, September 17, 2014, 05:05:43 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on September 10, 2014.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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 earthquakeDashed circle: 50 km aftershock search area
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
162 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
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 lists 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on October 6, 2014. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 122 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 · 162 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 166 km N of this epicenter
- 6.872 km WSW of Xunchang, ChinaMay 10, 1974 · 135 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 165 km N of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SE of Dadukou, ChinaSeptember 23, 1955 · 184 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 188 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5115 km NE of Lijiang, ChinaNovember 6, 1976 · 245 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 195 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 65 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 53,586 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 138 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 134 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1833M8.0
Yunnan Province
6 Sep 1833 · 220 km away · intensity XI
6,700 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 195 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 110 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2014M6.2
Yunnan: Ludian: Longtoushan, Zhaotong
3 Aug 2014 · 9 km away · intensity VII
615 deaths$5.0 billion damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.