Reviewed by USGSChina13y ago
M4.3 earthquake 39 km W of Linqiong, China
Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 17:24:58 UTC · 30.354°N, 103.059°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 39 km W of Linqiong, China on Wednesday, May 15, 2013, 17:24:58 UTC, at a depth of 38.2 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 38 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
43 tons of TNT
That is about 1/354 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 11 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
284 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
38 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 in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 185 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.958 km W of Tianpeng, ChinaMay 12, 2008 · 76 km N of this epicenter
- 7.4203 km NW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 6, 1973 · 263 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 187 km N of this epicenter
- 7.3151 km W of Kangding, ChinaMay 25, 1948 · 258 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 238 km W of this epicenter
- 7.119 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaApril 14, 1955 · 133 km W of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 244 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 247 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 51 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 150,575 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 77 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 293 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 253 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 187 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 234 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 253 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.