DESTRUCTIVE M5.4 Earthquake struck on Sunday Night near Dezhou in China.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on August 5th, 2023. Last updated October 4th, 2023.

A DESTRUCTIVE and significant Magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck under land 24 kilometer from Dezhou in China in the night of Sunday August 6th, 2023. The earthquake struck near a very densely populated region. Earthquakes like this pose a high risk at damage and significant risk to cause loss of life.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in China, 24 kilometer (15 mi) south of Dezhou in Shandong. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 18 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Aug 6, 2023 02:33 (Shanghai Time) - Aug 5, 2023 18:33 Universal Time.
Location:	24 km south of Dezhou, Shandong, China. Coordinates 37°13'50"N 116°23'27"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.4 Detected by 21 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.068 .
Depth:	18 km (11 mi) A very shallow depth.
Max. Intensity:	VIII Severe On the Modified Mercalli Scale.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Significant impact predicted

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

At least 24 people injured and 213 buildings damaged in the Dezhou-Liaocheng area.

Based on scientific estimates by the USGS, the risk of high fatalities for this earthquake is classified at level YELLOW (significant). They expect an 38% likelyhood of between 1 and 10 fatalities, and a 99% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 1,000.

The USGS classifies the economic impact of this earthquake at level RED (high). They expect an 35% likelyhood of between 1,000 and 10,000 million US Dollars in economic damage and impact, and a 91% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 10 and 100,000 million USD.

Roughly 109 million people exposed to shaking

An estimated 109 million have been exposed to shaking (An MMI or Modified Mercalli Intensity level II or higher) as a result of this earthquake according scientific estimates published by the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 132,100 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level III was experienced by the majority of people (around 73 million). In their region, weak shaking and probably no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of China .

People	MMI Level	Shaking	Damage
0	I	Not noticable	None
147,200	II	Very weak	None
73,430,000	III	Weak	Probably none
32,410,000	IV	Light	Likely none
2,258,000	V	Moderate	Very light
492,100	VI	Strong	Light
132,100	VII	Very Strong	Moderate
0	VIII	Severe	Moderate to heavy
0	IX	Violent	Heavy
0	X	Extreme	Very heavy

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in China . Located 24 kilometer (15 mi) south of the epicenter of this earthquake, Dezhou (Shandong, China) is the nearest significant population center. The intensity of shaking and damage in Dezhou is estimated to be around level V on the Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (moderate shaking, very light damage).

Multiple large cities are in proximity of today's earthquake. Beijing is located 298 km to the north (intensity unknown, possibly low). Jinan is located 83 km to the south-east and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Tianjin is located 223 km to the north-northeast (intensity unknown, possibly low).

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below. If places don't have intensity data available, it likely means the experienced impact in those places was fairly small.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place	Intensity (MMI)
24 km (15 mi) N from epicenter	Dezhou Shandong, China.	V Moderate
74 km (46 mi) SW from epicenter	Qingnian Shandong, China.	IV Light
81 km (50 mi) SSE from epicenter	Changqing Shandong, China.	IV Light
82 km (51 mi) WNW from epicenter	Jizhou Hebei, China.	IV Light
83 km (52 mi) NW from epicenter	Hengshui Hebei, China.	IV Light
83 km (52 mi) SE from epicenter	Jinan Shandong, China.	IV Light
91 km (57 mi) W from epicenter	Nangong Hebei, China.	IV Light
93 km (58 mi) SSW from epicenter	Liaocheng Shandong, China.	IV Light
94 km (58 mi) N from epicenter	Botou Hebei, China.	IV Light
105 km (65 mi) S from epicenter	Pingyin Shandong, China.	IV Light
114 km (71 mi) SSE from epicenter	Feicheng Shandong, China.	IV Light
114 km (71 mi) ESE from epicenter	Mingshui Shandong, China.	III Weak
128 km (80 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yanta Shandong, China.	IV Light
128 km (80 mi) NNE from epicenter	Cangzhou Hebei, China.	IV Light
129 km (80 mi) NW from epicenter	Xinji Hebei, China.	IV Light
133 km (83 mi) SSE from epicenter	Tai’an Shandong, China.	III Weak
135 km (84 mi) ESE from epicenter	Zhoucun Shandong, China.	III Weak
136 km (85 mi) SSW from epicenter	Yanggu Shandong, China.	IV Light
145 km (90 mi) E from epicenter	Binzhou Shandong, China.	III Weak
147 km (91 mi) S from epicenter	Zhoucheng Shandong, China.	III Weak
153 km (95 mi) ESE from epicenter	Boshan Shandong, China.	III Weak
156 km (97 mi) ESE from epicenter	Zibo Shandong, China.	III Weak
157 km (98 mi) ESE from epicenter	Nanding Shandong, China.	III Weak
161 km (100 mi) SE from epicenter	Laiwu Shandong, China.	III Weak
165 km (103 mi) N from epicenter	Renqiu Hebei, China.	III Weak
169 km (105 mi) W from epicenter	Xingtai Hebei, China.	III Weak
169 km (105 mi) WNW from epicenter	Luancheng Hebei, China.	III Weak
170 km (106 mi) W from epicenter	Shahecheng Hebei, China.	III Weak
183 km (114 mi) WSW from epicenter	Handan Hebei, China.	III Weak
187 km (116 mi) E from epicenter	Dongying Shandong, China.	III Weak
188 km (117 mi) NW from epicenter	Dingzhou Hebei, China.	III Weak
190 km (118 mi) WNW from epicenter	Zhengding Hebei, China.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) SSE from epicenter	Yanzhou Shandong, China.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) WNW from epicenter	Shijiazhuang Hebei, China.	III Weak
191 km (119 mi) SE from epicenter	Xintai Shandong, China.	III Weak
195 km (121 mi) ESE from epicenter	Qingzhou Shandong, China.	III Weak
197 km (122 mi) NNW from epicenter	Baoding Hebei, China.	III Weak
204 km (127 mi) SW from epicenter	Puyang Henan, China.	III Weak
204 km (127 mi) S from epicenter	Jining Shandong, China.	III Weak
212 km (132 mi) E from epicenter	Shouguang Shandong, China.
219 km (136 mi) SW from epicenter	Anyang Henan, China.	III Weak
223 km (139 mi) NNE from epicenter	Tianjin Tianjin, China.
227 km (141 mi) NNE from epicenter	Tanggu Tianjin, China.
236 km (147 mi) SSW from epicenter	Heze Shandong, China.
246 km (153 mi) SW from epicenter	Hebi Henan, China.	III Weak
248 km (154 mi) ESE from epicenter	Weifang Shandong, China.
255 km (158 mi) N from epicenter	Langfang Hebei, China.
259 km (161 mi) WNW from epicenter	Yangquan Shanxi, China.
282 km (175 mi) S from epicenter	Peicheng Jiangsu, China.
283 km (176 mi) SSE from epicenter	Zaozhuang Shandong, China.
298 km (185 mi) SE from epicenter	Linyi Shandong, China.
298 km (185 mi) N from epicenter	Beijing Beijing, China.

Earthquake Intensity Map

The intensity in shaking and damage by this earthquake is illustrated through the map below. The highest intensity measured for this earthquake is VII.

I Not felt

II Weak

III Weak

IV Light

V Moderate

VI Strong

VII Very Strong

VIII Severe

IX Violent

X Extreme

Earthquake Intensity Map based on Shakemap Data provided by USGS.

Shaking reported by 41 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 41 people have reported shaking in 24 places, all within China.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Dezhou, Shandong, China: 7 people.
Peking, Beijing, China: 6 people.
Jinan, Shandong, China: 6 people.
Zhongxing, Jiangsu, China: 2 people.
Linyi, Shandong, China: 1 person.
Tianjin, Tianjin, China: 1 person.
Tanggu, Tianjin, China: 1 person.
Yangquan, Shanxi, China: 1 person.
Taiyuan, Shanxi, China: 1 person.
Zhangdian, Shandong, China: 1 person.

Risk of aftershocks?

We monitor for foreshocks or aftershocks that have a magnitude of 2.5+ and occur within 100km (62 mi) of the epicenter of this earthquake. So far no such earthquakes have been detected.

Earthquakes can create aftershocks. These are generally at least 1 magnitude lower than any main shock, and as time passes the chance and strength of aftershocks decreases.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is an unusually powerful earthquake

No earthquake of this strength has struck this region for a long time. Our data goes back 10 years, and no earthquakes measuring a magnitude of 5.4 or higher have been detected within 300 km (186 mi) of this epicenter.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.4. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 18 km (11 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 04/10/23 11:57 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.