M5.5 Earthquake 17 km WNW of Jiangyou, China — September 3, 2026
2026-09-03 11:39:42 UTC (2026-09-03) · approx. 6:39 PM UTC+7 local
Felt by 6 people across nearby locations. Maximum shaking intensity MMI 6.3 (very strong).
On September 3, 2026 at 11:39 UTC, a magnitude 5.5 shallow crustal earthquake struck 17 km WNW of Jiangyou, China, at a depth of 10.0 km and coordinates 31.8509°, 104.5554°. The earthquake was reported felt by 6 peopleacross nearby locations, with a maximum shaking intensity of Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) 6.3 (very strong). The USGS PAGER system issued a orange alert level for this event, indicating regional impact possible. This earthquake was detected by 106 seismic stations with excellent location accuracy and was assigned a USGS significance rating of 1002, making it one of the most significant global earthquakes in recent days. The nearest populated place is Zhongba (population 762,140).
Physical scale: An earthquake of magnitude 5.5 releases seismic energy equivalent to roughly 3 kilotons of TNT. Empirical fault-scaling laws (Wells & Coppersmith, 1994) estimate the subsurface rupture length at approximately 3.8 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 6 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 | 1,945,452 |
| MMI 4 | light | 7,429,149 |
| MMI 5 | moderate | 544,380 |
| MMI 6 | strong | 252,704 |
Earthquake Details
104.5554°E
Technical Information
Nearby Earthquakes (Last 7 Days)
Common Questions
How strong was the magnitude 5.5 earthquake near Jiangyou, China?
The magnitude 5.5 earthquake that struck 17 km WNW of Jiangyou, China on September 3, 2026 at 11:39 UTC had a depth of 10.0 km. It was felt by 6 people with maximum shaking intensity of MMI 6.3 (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 31.8509°, 104.5554°, which is 17 km WNW of Jiangyou, China. The nearest populated place is Zhongba (population 762,140).
Were there aftershocks?
Aftershock activity is monitored continuously by the USGS. Aftershock sequences from magnitude 5.5 earthquakes can continue for days to weeks and gradually diminish over time.
Actions
Location
Authoritative source: USGS event page (event ID: us7000tdw6). All scientific values on this page are sourced verbatim from the USGS feed.
Cite this page: EarthquakeTracker.org. (2026, September 3, 2026). M5.5 Earthquake 17 km WNW of Jiangyou, China — September 3, 2026. Retrieved September 28, 2026 from https://www.earthquaketracker.org/earthquakes/event/us7000tdw6/