Reviewed by USGSChina36y ago
M4.8 earthquake 159 km WSW of Xining, China
Sunday, May 20, 1990, 05:47:04 UTC · 36.058°N, 100.130°E
A magnitude 4.8 earthquake struck 159 km WSW of Xining, China on Sunday, May 20, 1990, 05:47:04 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M5.3 on May 15, 1990.
- Magnitude
- 4.8
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 15 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
239 tons of TNT
That is about 1/63 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 2 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
917 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Indian plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
15 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 M4.5 on June 12, 1990. 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 42 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.8Southern Qinghai, ChinaJanuary 7, 1937 · 229 km W of this epicenter
- 7.731 km SSW of Wuwei, ChinaMay 22, 1927 · 276 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.6Qinghai-Sichuan border region, ChinaMarch 17, 1947 · 291 km S of this epicenter
- 6.824 km SSW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, ChinaFebruary 7, 1936 · 282 km E of this epicenter
- 6.7Southern Qinghai, ChinaApril 19, 1963 · 287 km W of this epicenter
- 6.5200 km S of Jiuquan, ChinaJuly 13, 1930 · 269 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5153 km WSW of Xining, ChinaApril 26, 1990 · 13 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.350 km SW of Wuwei, ChinaMarch 7, 1928 · 254 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 8 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 51,164 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1927M7.7
Gansu Province
22 May 1927 · 276 km away · intensity XI
40,912 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1921M6.2
Ningxia
12 Apr 1921 · 113 km away
10,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1990M6.9
Qinghai Province: Ganghe-Xinghai
26 Apr 1990 · 13 km away
126 deaths$58 million damage
- 1819M5.8
Qinghai Province
24 Feb 1819 · 195 km away · intensity VII
126 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1893M5.5
Qinghai Province
1 Jun 1893 · 161 km away · intensity VII
Moderate damage ($1–5M)
- 1937M7.5
Qinghai Province
7 Jan 1937 · 237 km away · intensity X
Limited damage (under $1M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.