M5.1 Earthquake in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region — December 28, 2022
2022-12-28 17:16:35 UTC (2022-12-28) · approx. 10:16 PM UTC+5 local
Felt by 9 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 6.0 (very strong).
On December 28, 2022 at 17:16 UTC, a magnitude 5.1 shallow crustal earthquake struck in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 41.7998°, 79.5619°. The earthquake was reported felt by 9 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 6.0 (very strong). The USGS PAGER system issued a green alert level for this event, indicating no significant casualties or damage expected. This earthquake was detected by 121 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 407, placing it among routine seismic activity. The nearest populated place is Yengiawat (population 0).
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.
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 9 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 | 1,896,870 |
| MMI 4 | light | 198,429 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 48 |
Earthquake Details
79.5619°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.1 earthquake in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region?
The magnitude 5.1 earthquake that struck in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region on December 28, 2022 at 17:16 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 9 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 6.0 (very strong). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 41.7998°, 79.5619°, which is in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region. The nearest populated place is Yengiawat (population 0).
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.
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000j0ne). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2022, December 28, 2022). M5.1 Earthquake in the Kyrgyzstan-Xinjiang border region — December 28, 2022. Retrieved March 7, 2023 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000j0ne/