Reviewed by USGSChina18y ago
M4.5 earthquake 61 km NNW of Linqiong, China
Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 21:09:35 UTC · 30.881°N, 103.114°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 61 km NNW of Linqiong, China on Wednesday, June 25, 2008, 21:09:35 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on June 24, 2008.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 10 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
318 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Eurasian and Yangtze plates. Earthquakes this far from a boundary happen on faults inside a plate, often less frequently but sometimes strongly.
Depth: shallow
10 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 5 M2.5+ earthquakes within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.6 on July 24, 2008. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.645 km N of Linqiong, China18y ago · 28 km E of this epicenter
- 4.336 km W of Tianpeng, China18y ago · 45 km E of this epicenter
- 4.132 km W of Tianpeng, China18y ago · 47 km E of this epicenter
- 4.032 km W of Tianpeng, China18y ago · 47 km E of this epicenter
- 3.855 km W of Tianpeng, China18y ago · 28 km NE of this epicenter
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 162 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.958 km W of Tianpeng, ChinaMay 12, 2008 · 24 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.4203 km NW of Kangding, ChinaFebruary 6, 1973 · 248 km W of this epicenter
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 131 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.3151 km W of Kangding, ChinaMay 25, 1948 · 274 km W of this epicenter
- 7.1150 km WNW of Kangding, ChinaAugust 30, 1904 · 240 km W of this epicenter
- 7.119 km WSW of Kangding, ChinaApril 14, 1955 · 166 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.0184 km NW of Kangding, ChinaMarch 24, 1923 · 230 km W of this epicenter
- 7.042 km W of Xunchang, ChinaJuly 30, 1917 · 298 km SE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 49 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 130,213 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 29 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
- 1879M8.0
Gansu Province
1 Jul 1879 · 298 km away · intensity XI
22,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 131 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1923M7.3
Sichuan Province
24 Mar 1923 · 213 km away · intensity X
4,800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1816M6.5
Sichuan Province
8 Dec 1816 · 237 km away · intensity VIII
2,854 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1948M7.3
Sichuan Province
25 May 1948 · 294 km away · intensity X
800 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.