Reviewed by USGSChina17y ago
M4.5 earthquake 41 km NNE of Jiangyou, China
Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 17:31:14 UTC · 32.125°N, 104.836°E
A magnitude 4.5 earthquake struck 41 km NNE of Jiangyou, China on Tuesday, January 6, 2009, 17:31:14 UTC, at a depth of 54.7 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M4.7 on January 2, 2009.
- Magnitude
- 4.5
- Light · mb
- Depth
- 55 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
341 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
55 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 1 M2.5+ earthquake within 50 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M4.3 on January 7, 2009. 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 100 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 · 190 km SW of this epicenter
- 7.4101 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 25, 1933 · 112 km W of this epicenter
- 6.9121 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 16, 1976 · 94 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.794 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 23, 1976 · 74 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.499 km NNW of Jiangyou, ChinaAugust 21, 1976 · 74 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3146 km NW of Jiangyou, ChinaNovember 9, 1960 · 130 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.261 km S of Tianshui, ChinaAugust 1, 1936 · 228 km N of this epicenter
- 6.1127 km WNW of Jiangyou, ChinaMarch 14, 1938 · 130 km W of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 31 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 121,783 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 2008M7.9
Sichuan Province
12 May 2008 · 187 km away · intensity IX
87,652 deaths$86 billion damagetsunami
- 1879M8.0
Gansu Province
1 Jul 1879 · 120 km away · intensity XI
22,000 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1933M7.4
Sichuan Province
25 Aug 1933 · 112 km away · intensity X
9,300 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1765M6.5
Gansu Province: Wushan, Gangu
2 Sep 1765 · 298 km away · intensity IX
2,068 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1881M6.5
Gansu Province
20 Jul 1881 · 165 km away · intensity VIII
480 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1936M6.0
Gansu Province
1 Aug 1936 · 244 km away · intensity VIII
115 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.