Reviewed by USGSChina53y ago
M4.4 earthquake 64 km WSW of Xunchang, China
Sunday, June 23, 1974, 20:11:43 UTC · 28.319°N, 104.079°E
A magnitude 4.4 earthquake struck 64 km WSW of Xunchang, China on Sunday, June 23, 1974, 20:11:43 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.4
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 33 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
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
97 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Yangtze plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
33 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 4 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.2 on July 9, 1974. 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 62 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.119 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaApril 14, 1955 · 290 km NW of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 22 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 52 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.872 km WSW of Xunchang, ChinaMay 10, 1974 · 11 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 52 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 179 km W of this epicenter
- 6.3eastern Sichuan, ChinaDecember 18, 1935 · 83 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.129 km SE of Kangding, ChinaJune 25, 1952 · 249 km NW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 32 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 43,558 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 184 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 11 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 36 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 253 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1932M6.0
Sichuan Province
6 Mar 1932 · 297 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
- 1933M5.0
Sichuan Province
20 Sep 1933 · 202 km away · intensity VI
200 deathsLimited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.