Reviewed by USGSChina50y ago
M4.3 earthquake 104 km NE of Lijiang, China
Tuesday, November 16, 1976, 11:19:21 UTC · 27.429°N, 101.068°E
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck 104 km NE of Lijiang, China on Tuesday, November 16, 1976, 11:19:21 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.3
- 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
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
357 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
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 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.9 on December 13, 1976. 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 85 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 · 289 km N of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NE of Dali, ChinaMarch 16, 1925 · 198 km S of this epicenter
- 6.892 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaMay 16, 1936 · 287 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 224 km N of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 286 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SE of Dadukou, ChinaSeptember 23, 1955 · 128 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 161 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5115 km NE of Lijiang, ChinaNovember 6, 1976 · 20 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 45 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 31,432 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 128 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 198 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 296 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 155 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1948M7.3
Sichuan Province
25 May 1948 · 237 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1786M7.5
Sichuan Province: S Of Kangding
1 Jun 1786 · 282 km away · intensity IX
435 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.