2019 Sichuan earthquake

An earthquake measuring 5.8 M_w struck the province of Sichuan in China at 22:55 local time (14:55 UTC), 17 June 2019.[1] Changning and Gong counties in Yibin were particularly affected. 13 people died and more than 200 others were injured.[2]

2019 Sichuan earthquake

Yibin 2019 Sichuan earthquake (Sichuan)
UTC time	2019-06-17 14:55:45
ISC event	615956027
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	17 June 2019
Local time	22:55
Magnitude	5.8 Mw
Depth	10 km (6 mi)
Epicenter	28.405°N 104.957°E
Type	Oblique slip
Areas affected	Sichuan, Chongqing
Max. intensity	VII (Very strong)
Aftershocks	7
Casualties	13 dead, >200 injured

Tectonic setting

Sichuan lies within the zone of complex tectonics caused by the continuing convergence of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. The active faulting in this area relates to the eastward movement of material away from the Tibetan Plateau, which has been uplifted by this collision. The largest structure in the area is the Longmenshan Fault, movement on which was responsible for the M7.9 2008 Sichuan earthquake.[1]

Earthquake

Based on the focal mechanism the earthquake was a result of oblique-slip faulting, dominantly reverse faulting with a component of strike-slip.[1] Further analysis suggests that the initial movement was on a reverse fault followed by rupture along a shallow strike-slip fault. The reverse fault movement matches well with the known stress field in the area, but the strike-slip fault is less favourably orientated, suggesting the presence of elevated pore pressures due to water injection associated with solution mining of rock salt.[3] Results from the analysis of Interferometric synthetic-aperture radar (InSAR) data indicate that the reverse fault was shallow enough to be intersected by the openhole sections of some of the injection wells.[4]

A number of aftershocks also occurred.[5]

Magnitude	Location	Time (UTC)	Depth
5.8	19 km S of Changning, China	2019-06-17 14:55:45	10.0 km
5.2	15 km SSW of Changning, China	2019-06-17 15:36:02	10.0 km
4.7	8 km SSE of Changning, China	2019-06-17 16:29:08	10.0 km
4.9	14 km SSE of Changning, China	2019-06-17 16:37:56	10.0 km
4.9	12 km S of Changning, China	2019-06-17 21:03:26	10.0 km
5.2	20 km SSE of Changning, China	2019-06-17 23:34:34	10.0 km
5.3[6]	13 km S of Changning, China	2019-06-22 14:29:55	10.0 km
4.9[7]	7 km SSE of Changning, China	2019-06-23 00:28:18	10.0 km

Damage

More than 20,000 houses were badly damaged and some roads, communication infrastructure and hydroelectric power plants were also reported to be affected.[8]

There were 13 deaths overall, 9 of them in Changning County and the other 5 in Gongxian County.[2] A further 220 people were reported injured, 6 of them critically and 16 severely.[8]

See also

• List of earthquakes in Sichuan
• Lists of earthquakes

References

1. ANSS. "Sichuan 2019: M 5.8 - 19km S of Changning, China". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
2. China Plus (18 June 2019). "Death toll from Sichuan earthquake rises to 13". Retrieved 18 June 2019.
3. Liu, Junqing; Zahradník, Jiří (14 February 2020). "The 2019 M_W 5.7 Changning Earthquake, Sichuan Basin, China: A Shallow Doublet With Different Faulting Styles". Geophysical Research Letters. 47 (4). doi:10.1029/2019GL085408.
4. Wang, S.; Jiang, G.; Weingarten, M.; Niu, Y. (2020). "InSAR Evidence Indicates a Link Between Fluid Injection for Salt Mining and the 2019 Changning (China) Earthquake Sequence". Geophysical Research Letters. 47 (4). doi:10.1029/2020GL087603.
5. "Latest Earthquakes". earthquake.usgs.gov.
6. USGS. "M 5.3 - 11km SE of Xunchang, China". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
7. USGS. "M 4.9 - 11km SSW of Changning, China". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
8. China Plus (19 June 2019). "Relief efforts underway after China quake kills 13, injures 220". Retrieved 19 June 2019.

External links

The International Seismological Centre has a bibliography and/or authoritative data for this event.