M6.5 earthquake 185 km NNE of Burang, China
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck 185 km NNE of Burang, China on Sun, Jan 24, 1982, 1:37 AM GMT+8 (17:37 UTC), 33 km (21 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms, surface-wave), strong
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 1982-01-23 17:37:30 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 31.696° N, 82.246° E
- Region
- China
- Strongest shaking
- VII, very strong shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Magnitude estimates
Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.5 | Ms, surface-wave | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed · 11 stations |
| 6.29 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.3 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-WAVES NP1:STRIKE=23;DIP=23;SLIP=270 NP2:STRIKE=203;DIP=67;SLIP=270 PRINCIPAL AXES (T): PLG=22;AZM=293 (P): PLG=68;AZM=113 COMMENT: Moderately well controlled normal fault type mechanism. NP2 designated as the fault plane. CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION HARVARD EVENT-FILE NAME C012382B DATA USED: GDSN L.P. BODY WAVES: 14S, 40C, T=45 MANTLE WAVES: 6S, 18C, T=135 CENTROID LOCATION: ORIGIN TIME 17:37:44.8 0.3 LAT 31.85N 0.04;LON 81.95E 0.02 DEP 40.9 1.8;HALF-DURATION 7.5 MOMENT TENSOR; SCALE 10**25 D-CM MRR=-3.87 0.09; MTT=0.49 0.13 MFF=3.38 0.10; MRT=-0.58 0.15 MRF=-0.94 0.19; MTF=0.48 0.10 PRINCIPAL AXES: 1.(T) VAL=3.60;PLG=8;AZM=100 2.(N) 0.45; 5; 191 3.(P) -4.05; 81; 314 BEST DOUBLE COUPLE:M0=3.8*10**25 NP1:STRIKE=184;DIP=37;SLIP=-98 NP2:Strike=15;Dip=53;Slip=-84
From the USGS event page for usp0001j88. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VII, very strong shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 15.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 3.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 3.5 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 6.0173 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 13 km away
- 5.0175 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 45 km deep · 16 km away
- 4.2203 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 34 km away
- 4.7191 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
- 5.0177 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 20 km away
- 4.4198 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 14 km away
- 4.6179 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.5187 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 22 km away
- 4.6177 km NNE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.4173 km NE of Burang, China · 16322 days ago · 33 km deep · 29 km away
- 4.5183 km NE of Burang, China · 16321 days ago · 33 km deep · 15 km away
- 5.1185 km NE of Burang, China · 16320 days ago · 33 km deep · 8 km away
- 4.6155 km NE of Burang, China · 16311 days ago · 33 km deep · 35 km away
Earthquakes todayChina earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp0001j88 (also filed as gcmtc012382b, gcmt19820123173729, iscgem606137). Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 4:24 AM UTC.