On Monday Evening a DESTRUCTIVE M5.9 Earthquake struck near Linxia Chengguanzhen in China.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on December 18th, 2023. Last updated February 16th, 2024.

Under land 39 kilometer from Linxia Chengguanzhen in China, a DESTRUCTIVE and significant M5.9 earthquake occurred just before midnight of Monday December 18th, 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.

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Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in China, 39 kilometer (24 mi) west-northwest of Linxia Chengguanzhen in Gansu. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 12 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Dec 18, 2023 23:59 (Shanghai Time) - Dec 18, 2023 15:59 Universal Time.
Location:	39 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, Gansu, China. Coordinates 35°44'19"N 102°48'54"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.9 Detected by 35 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.052 .
Depth:	12 km (7 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 117 people killed and 784 injured in Gansu; 34 people killed, 198 injured and 13 missing in Qinghai. At least 15,000 houses destroyed and 207,000 damaged, communication, power and water outages occurred and rockfalls blocked roads in the Gansu-Qinghai area. A liquefaction induced landslide occurred in Minhe.

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 91% chance that the number of fatalities falls no higher than 100.

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 92% chance that the economic impact of this earthquake falls between 10 and 100,000 million USD.

Roughly 17 million people exposed to shaking

This earthquake may have been felt by around 17 million people. That is the expected population size of the area exposed to a level of shaking of II or higher on the Modified Mercalli scale according to the USGS.

The highest earthquake impact level for this earthquake is VII, which corresponds with very strong shaking and likely moderate damage. Roughly 110,700 people are expected to be exposed to this level. Intensity level IV was experienced by the majority of people (around 10 million). In their region, light shaking and likely no damage can be expected. All exposure to shaking was within the borders of China .

Nearby towns and cities

This earthquake may have been felt in China . The closest significant population center near the earthquake is Linxia Chengguanzhen in Gansu, China. Linxia Chengguanzhen is located 39 kilometer (24 mi) west-northwest of the epicenter. The intensity of shaking and damage in Linxia Chengguanzhen 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. Lanzhou is located 99 km to the east-northeast and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Xining is located 137 km to the northwest and experienced an intensity of IV (light shaking, likely no damage). Linxia Chengguanzhen is located 39 km to the east-southeast and experienced an intensity of V (moderate shaking, very light damage).

A complete list of nearby places is included below. Estimated intensity data (MMI) sourced from a shake-map published by the US Geographic Survey is shown where available (cities without data probably experienced little impact).

Overview of nearby places

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

Shaking reported by 25 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 25 people have reported shaking in 12 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:

• Lanzhou, Gansu, China: 6 people.
• Linxia, Gansu, China: 3 people.
• Xining, Qinghai, China: 3 people.
• Chongqing, Chongqing, China: 2 people.
• Beidao, Gansu, China: 2 people.
• Xian, Shaanxi, China: 2 people.
• Huayang, Sichuan, China: 2 people.
• Aomen, Aomen, China: 1 person.
• Zhifang, Hubei, China: 1 person.
• Changsha, Hunan, China: 1 person.

6 Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 6 smaller aftershocks were detected. A 4.6 magnitude earthquake hit 2 days later 5 km (3 mi) north of this earthquake.

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

In only six percent of cases, significant earthquakes are followed by a larger main shock, making the current earthquake a foreshock. While the chance of this happening is not so large, it is adviced to maintain cautiousness in the hours and days following a major earthquake.

Earthquakes like this are common in the region

Earthquakes of this strength occur quite regularly in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since January 7th, 2022, when a 6.6 magnitude earthquake hit 269 km (167 mi) further north-northwest. That was also the heaviest earthquake to hit the region in the past 10 years.

In total, 3 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.9 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 3 years.

Tsunami very unlikely

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

Sources

Last updated 16/02/24 06:08 (). As more information on this earthquake becomes available this article will be updated. This article is automatically composed based on data originating from multiple sources.

1. US Geographic Society (USGS): Earthquake us7000ljvg
2. European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC): Earthquake 20231218_0000190
3. Geonames.org: World Cities Database
4. Google Maps: Static API
5. Earthquakelist.org: Historic Earthquakes Database

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