Reviewed by USGSChina50y ago
M4.5 earthquake 104 km ENE of Lijiang, China
Monday, December 13, 1976, 07:23:46 UTC · 27.341°N, 101.131°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 104 km ENE of Lijiang, China on Monday, December 13, 1976, 07:23:46 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.9 on December 13, 1976.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- 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
85 tons of TNT
That is about 1/178 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 6 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
364 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 2 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.0 on December 14, 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 86 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 · 297 km N of this epicenter
- 6.824 km NE of Dali, ChinaMarch 16, 1925 · 192 km SW 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 · 235 km N of this epicenter
- 6.793 km SSW of Luocheng, ChinaApril 26, 1936 · 285 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SE of Dadukou, ChinaSeptember 23, 1955 · 117 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 164 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5115 km NE of Lijiang, ChinaNovember 6, 1976 · 30 km N of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 46 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 53,493 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 126 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1974M7.1
Yunnan And Sichuan Provinces, Chao-T'Ung
10 May 1974 · 300 km away
20,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 192 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1713M6.8
Yunnan Province: S Of Xundian
26 Feb 1713 · 298 km away · intensity IX
2,100 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1917M6.8
Yunnan Province
30 Jul 1917 · 292 km away · intensity IX
1,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 154 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.