M5.1 Earthquake near Southern Qinghai, China — May 22, 2021
2021-05-22 02:38:45 UTC (2021-05-22) · approx. 9:38 AM UTC+7 local
Felt by 1 person across nearby locations.
On May 22, 2021 at 02:38 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck near Southern Qinghai, China, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 34.5476°, 98.9375°.
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.1 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 674 metric tons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 2.0 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 1 citizen response to the USGS Did You Feel It? system. Each colored zone represents the average MMI from reports in that area.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey Did You Feel It?. View on USGS · submit your own report
Earthquake Details
98.9375°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.1 earthquake near Southern Qinghai, China?
The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck near Southern Qinghai, China on May 22, 2021 at 02:38 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 34.5476°, 98.9375°, which is near Southern Qinghai, China.
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.1 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
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Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000e587). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2021, May 22, 2021). M5.1 Earthquake near Southern Qinghai, China — May 22, 2021. Retrieved December 22, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000e587/