Reviewed by USGSChina30y ago
M4.1 earthquake 50 km NE of Lijiang, China
Saturday, March 16, 1996, 06:46:53 UTC · 27.139°N, 100.625°E
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck 50 km NE of Lijiang, China on Saturday, March 16, 1996, 06:46:53 UTC, at a depth of 33.0 km (shallow).
- Magnitude
- 4.1
- 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 earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
21 tons of TNT
That is about 1/707 of the Hiroshima bomb. A magnitude 5.0 releases about 22 times more energy.
Tectonic setting
319 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 has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 107 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 6.824 km NE of Dali, ChinaMarch 16, 1925 · 156 km S of this epicenter
- 6.8143 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 9, 1908 · 252 km N of this epicenter
- 6.711 km SE of Dadukou, ChinaSeptember 23, 1955 · 137 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.7129 km ENE of Myitkyina, MyanmarSeptember 21, 1930 · 249 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.659 km N of Xichang, ChinaSeptember 30, 1952 · 215 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.647 km N of Lijiang, ChinaFebruary 3, 1996 · 38 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.5115 km NE of Lijiang, ChinaNovember 6, 1976 · 67 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.5110 km E of Myitkyina, MyanmarApril 28, 1930 · 281 km SW of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 42 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 29,281 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1850M7.5
Sichuan: Xichang
12 Sep 1850 · 181 km away · intensity X
20,650 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1925M6.9
Yunnan Province: Talifu
16 Mar 1925 · 156 km away
5,800 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1751M6.8
Yunnan Province
25 May 1751 · 101 km away · intensity IX
900 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1948M7.3
Sichuan Province
25 May 1948 · 263 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1996M6.6
Yunnan Province: Lijiang
3 Feb 1996 · 38 km away · intensity IX
322 deaths$506 million damage
- 1803M6.0
Yunnan Province
1 Feb 1803 · 171 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.