Reviewed by USGSChina18y ago
M4.5 earthquake 52 km WNW of Jiangyou, China
Sunday, December 7, 2008, 14:10:43 UTC · 31.917°N, 104.192°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 52 km WNW of Jiangyou, China on Sunday, December 7, 2008, 14:10:43 UTC, at a depth of 10.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.6 on December 7, 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
354 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 M4.7 on January 2, 2009. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
- 4.752 km WNW of Jiangyou, China17y ago · 2 km S of this epicenter
- 4.054 km W of Jiangyou, China18y ago · 19 km S of this epicenter
- 4.230 km W of Jiangyou, China18y ago · 26 km SE of this epicenter
- 4.041 km WNW of Mianyang, China18y ago · 32 km S of this epicenter
- 3.934 km WNW of Jiangyou, China18y ago · 18 km SE of this epicenter
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:
- 7.958 km W of Tianpeng, ChinaMay 12, 2008 · 131 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 50 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9121 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 16, 1976 · 93 km N of this epicenter
- 6.794 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 23, 1976 · 64 km N of this epicenter
- 6.5128 km NNW of Kangding, ChinaMay 29, 1919 · 262 km W of this epicenter
- 6.499 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 21, 1976 · 73 km N of this epicenter
- 6.3146 km NW of Jiangyou, ChinaNovember 9, 1960 · 102 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.261 km S of Tianshui, ChinaAugust 1, 1936 · 275 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 35 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 120,036 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 129 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
- 1879M8.0
Gansu Province
1 Jul 1879 · 150 km away · intensity XI
22,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 50 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M6.5
Gansu Province
20 Jul 1881 · 191 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1792M6.0
Sichuan Province: N Of Qianning
7 Sep 1792 · 275 km away · intensity VIII
205 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1793M6.0
Sichuan Province: Near Qianning
15 May 1793 · 295 km away · intensity VIII
200 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.