Reviewed by USGSChina11y ago
M4.4 earthquake in Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou region, China
Monday, December 15, 2014, 18:19:13 UTC · 27.083°N, 103.539°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck in Sichuan-Yunnan-Guizhou region, China on Monday, December 15, 2014, 18:19:13 UTC, at a depth of 30.5 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 30 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Max intensity I
- 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
60 tons of TNT
That is about 1/251 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 8 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
158 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
30 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 121 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 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 171 km N of this epicenter
- 6.872 km WSW of Xunchang, ChinaMay 10, 1974 · 137 km N of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 170 km N of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SE of Dadukou, ChinaSeptember 23, 1955 · 188 km W of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 196 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5115 km NE of Lijiang, ChinaNovember 6, 1976 · 252 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 201 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 · 146 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 137 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1833M8.0
Yunnan Province
6 Sep 1833 · 216 km away · intensity XI
6,700 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)tsunami
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 190 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 112 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 2014M6.2
Yunnan: Ludian: Longtoushan, Zhaotong
3 Aug 2014 · 17 km away · intensity VII
615 deaths$5.0 billion damage
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.