M6.9 earthquake 169 km SW of Dali, China

Saturday, May 29, 1976, 12:23:18 UTC · 24.570°N, 98.953°E

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck 169 km SW of Dali, China on Saturday, May 29, 1976, 12:23:18 UTC, at a depth of 8.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M6.9 on December 26, 1941.

Magnitude: 6.9; Strong · ms
Depth: 8 km; Shallow
Felt reports: 0; Did You Feel It?
Est. shaking: VIII; Severe (ShakeMap)
PAGER alert: None; Not issued
Tsunami: No flag; USGS feed

Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 100 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)

In context

How big was it, and why here?

Energy released

338 kilotons of TNT

That is about 22 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 708 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.

Tectonic setting

268 km

from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Indian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.

Depth: shallow

8 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 100 km

USGS lists 18 M2.5+ earthquakes within 100 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M7.0 on May 29, 1976. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.

Time after the mainshock on a logarithmic scale (first hours stretched), magnitude on the vertical axis. M2.5+ events from USGS.

Regional history

Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km

USGS lists 98 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 36 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 7,365 recorded deaths. The most severe:

1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 194 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 235 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
1803M6.0
Yunnan Province
1 Feb 1803 · 202 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
23 Feb 1839 · 195 km away · intensity VIII
129 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1948M6.8
Yunnan Province
27 Jun 1948 · 217 km away · intensity VIII
110 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
1839M6.0
Yunnan Province
7 Feb 1839 · 195 km away · intensity VIII
100 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)

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

Nearby trackers