M6.6 Earthquake 44 km SE of Kangding, China — September 5, 2022
2022-09-05 04:52:19 UTC (2022-09-05) · approx. 11:52 AM UTC+7 local
Felt by 56 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 8.0 (violent).
On September 5, 2022 at 04:52 UTC, a magnitude 6.6 shallow crustal earthquake struck 44 km SE of Kangding, China, at a depth of 12.0 km and coordinates 29.6786°, 102.2360°. The earthquake was reported felt by 56 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 8.0 (violent). The USGS PAGER system issued a orange alert level for this event, indicating regional impact possible. This earthquake was detected by 141 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 1051, making it one of the most significant global earthquakes in recent days. The nearest populated place is Luqiao (population 0).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 6.6 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 120 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 22 km — a useful intuition for the size of the slip patch on the fault.
Nearest Populated Places
ShakeMap — predicted shaking intensity
Modeled ground-motion intensity contoured on the Modified Mercalli scale (MMI). Computed by the USGS from the moment-tensor solution and regional ground-motion prediction equations.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey ShakeMap. View interactive ShakeMap on USGS
Did You Feel It? — community-reported shaking
Aggregated felt-report intensity from 56 citizen responses 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
Population exposure (USGS PAGER)
Estimated population that experienced each level of shaking. Based on the USGS PAGER rapid impact assessment, which combines ShakeMap output with global population grids.
| Shaking intensity (MMI) | Description | Population exposed |
|---|---|---|
| MMI 3 | weak | 4,374,322 |
| MMI 4 | light | 31,119,248 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 1,242,823 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 104,551 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 41,098 |
Earthquake Details
102.2360°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 6.6 earthquake near Kangding, China?
The magnitude 6.6 earthquake that struck 44 km SE of Kangding, China on September 5, 2022 at 04:52 UTC had a depth of 12.0 km. It was felt by 56 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 8.0 (violent). For context, this was a strong earthquake capable of causing significant damage.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 29.6786°, 102.2360°, which is 44 km SE of Kangding, China. The nearest populated place is Luqiao (population 0).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 6.6 earthquakes can continue for weeks to months and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000i59t). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, September 5, 2022). M6.6 Earthquake 44 km SE of Kangding, China — September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 7, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000i59t/