The 2020 Qiaojia earthquake () occurred in
Yunnan,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
, 42 km west of
Zhaotong on May 18, 21:48 local time (2020-05-18 13:48
UTC).
The
moment magnitude 5.1 quake occurred at a depth of 10 km.
Various buildings were damaged, and one house collapsed in
Zhaoyang District. Four people were killed while 24 people were injured.
Tectonic setting
The lateral spreading of the thickened crust of the
Tibetan Plateau, caused by the ongoing
collision between the
Indian Plate and the
Eurasian Plate, has led to the presence of many
active fault zones within the Sichuan-Yunnan region. The largest of these is the
Xianshuihe fault system (XFS), a major left-lateral
strike-slip
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
structure. This fault system divides into two main strands, the Anninghe-Zemuhe and Daliangshan faults. Near where these two strands rejoin to the south, a SW–NE trending right lateral fault zone is developed on the eastern side of the XFS, the Zhaotong–Ludian fault. The XFS has been the location of many large and damaging earthquakes, such as the
1981 Dawu and
2010 Yushu earthquake
The 2010 Yushu earthquake struck on April 14 and registered a magnitude of 6.9 Mw (USGS, EMSC) or 7.1 Ms[major earthquake
Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at ...](_blank)
occurred close to the trace of the Zhaotong-Ludian Fault.
Earthquake
The measured magnitude was 5.1 with a
hypocentral depth of 10 km. The earthquake's
focal mechanism
The focal mechanism of an earthquake describes the deformation in the source region that generates the seismic waves. In the case of a fault-related event it refers to the orientation of the fault plane that slipped and the slip vector and is ...
showed
strike-slip
In geology, a fault is a planar fracture or discontinuity in a volume of rock across which there has been significant displacement as a result of rock-mass movements. Large faults within Earth's crust result from the action of plate tectonic ...
on one of two nodal planes orientated 170° and 263°. The NNW-SSE trending solution matches best with the elongation of
isoseismal lines in a 160° direction and the trend of aftershocks within the first 24 hours after the event in a 175° direction. The causative fault has been identified as the Xiaohe-Baogunao Fault based on its orientation and proximity to the epicentre and the area affected by co-seismic landslides. Based on the distribution of aftershocks, the 2014 Ludian earthquake has also been explained by movement along another part of this fault zone.
Damage
There was significant damage to parts of Xiaohe Township in
Qiaojia County, with some houses collapsed. Landslides along several roads had to be cleared. Ten telecom
base station
Base station (or base radio station) is – according to the International Telecommunication Union's (ITU) Radio Regulations (RR) – a "land station in the land mobile service."
The term is used in the context of mobile telephony, wireless com ...
s were put out of action , but half that number were repaired by the following day. Four deaths were reported, with a further 24 people being injured. Firefighters and a mining rescue team were sent from
Zhaotong City
Zhaotong () is a prefecture-level city located in the northeast corner of Yunnan province, China, bordering the provinces of Guizhou to the south and southeast and Sichuan to the northeast, north, and west.
History
Zhaotong has historic and ...
to the affected area, with 16 townships being visited by rescuers.
See also
* List of earthquakes in 2020
This is a list of earthquakes in 2020. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage and/or casualties, or are notable for other reasons. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Maximum intensities are ...
* List of earthquakes in Yunnan
This is a list of earthquakes that have occurred in or have affected Yunnan Province in China.
Major earthquakes (≥Magnitude 7.0)
Major earthquakes (Magnitude 6.0–6.9)
Moderately large earthquakes (≤Magnitude 5.9)
See also
* ...
References
{{Earthquakes in 2020
Earthquakes in China
2020 in China
May 2020 events in China
2020 earthquakes
Earthquakes in Yunnan