M5.9 Earthquake 38 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China — December 18, 2023
2023-12-18 15:59:30 UTC (2023-12-18) · approx. 10:59 PM UTC+7 local
Felt by 34 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 8.6 (violent).
On December 18, 2023 at 15:59 UTC, a magnitude 5.9 shallow crustal earthquake struck 38 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China, at a depth of 12.0 km and coordinates 35.7386°, 102.8149°. The earthquake was reported felt by 34 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 8.6 (violent). The USGS PAGER system issued a red alert level for this event, indicating widespread severe impact likely. This earthquake was detected by 157 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 2027, making it one of the most significant global earthquakes in recent days. The nearest populated place is Shiyuan (population 0).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.9 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 11 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 7.1 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 34 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 | 5,008,913 |
| MMI 4 | light | 10,457,661 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 932,344 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 174,634 |
| MMI 7 | very strong | 110,745 |
Earthquake Details
102.8149°E
Technical Information
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.9 earthquake near Linxia Chengguanzhen, China?
The magnitude 5.9 earthquake that struck 38 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China on December 18, 2023 at 15:59 UTC had a depth of 12.0 km. It was felt by 34 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 8.6 (violent). For context, this was a moderate earthquake that could be widely felt.
Where did the earthquake occur?
The earthquake epicenter was located at 35.7386°, 102.8149°, which is 38 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China. The nearest populated place is Shiyuan (population 0).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.9 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000ljvg). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2023, December 18, 2023). M5.9 Earthquake 38 km WNW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China — December 18, 2023. Retrieved August 20, 2025 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000ljvg/