China earthquakes

M6.2 earthquake 89 km WNW of Aksu, China

A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck 89 km WNW of Aksu, China on Sat, Jan 24, 1987, 2:09 PM GMT+6 (08:09 UTC), 29 km (18 mi) below the surface.

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Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 6.2 (Mw, moment), strong
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Sat, Jan 24, 1987, 2:09 PM GMT+6
UTC: 1987-01-24 08:09:21 UTC
Depth: 28.9 km (18.0 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 41.529° N, 79.318° 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
6.2	Mw, moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
6.13	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1
6.1	Mwc, centroid moment	Global CMT project	Preliminary

Deaths and damage

From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5123), matched to this event by time and place.

Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: 417

Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.

NOAA’s full record of this earthquake

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

At least 417 houses damaged in the Wushi area, China. Felt (IV) in the Alma Ata-Przhevalsk area and (III) in the Frunze-Naryn area, USSR. FAULT PLANE SOLUTION: P-Waves NP1:Strike=70 Dip=50 Slip=90 NP2:Strike=250 Dip=40 Slip=90 Principal Axes: (T) Plg=85 Azm=340 (P) Plg=5 Azm=160 Comment: The focal mechanism is poorly controlled and corresponds to reverse faulting. The preferred fault plane is NP2. MOMENT TENSOR SOLUTION Dep 14 No. of sta: 12 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=0.92 Mtt=-0.57 Mff=-0.36 Mrt=-0.52 Mrf=0.14 Mtf=-0.65 Principal axes: (T) Val=1.17 Plg=64 Azm=213 (N) Val=0.00 Plg=24 Azm=56 (P) Val=-1.17 Plg=9 Azm=322 Best Double Couple:Mo=1.2*10**18 NP1:Strike=27 Dip=42 Slip=53 NP2:Strike=252 Dip=58 Slip=118 CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 11S, 30C Centroid Location: Origin Time 08:09:24.3 0.3 Lat 41.26N 0.04 Lon 79.31E 0.04 Dep 15.0 BDY Half-duration 4.4 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**18 Nm Mrr=1.88 0.05 Mtt=-1.86 0.06 Mff=-0.02 0.05 Mrt=-0.03 0.17 Mrf=0.39 0.14 Mtf=-0.46 0.05 Principal Axes: (T) Val=1.96 Plg=78 Azm=261 (N) Val=0.01 Plg=12 Azm=76 (P) Val=-1.97 Plg=1 Azm=166 Best Double Couple:Mo=2.0*10**18 NP1:Strike=268 Dip=45 Slip=107 NP2:Strike=65 Dip=47 Slip=74

From the USGS event page for usp00031w0. 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: 18.5% of gravity
Peak ground velocity: 2.9 cm/s
Map: Automatic

USGS ShakeMap: estimated shaking intensity around the epicenter — Estimated shaking intensity. Map: USGS ShakeMap.

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: CONSTRAINED_BY_DEPTH_PHASES

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 3.2 and up: 13 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.

After

Earthquakes today China earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp00031w0 (also filed as gcmtb012487a, gcmt19870124080921, atlas19870124080919, iscgem477220). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 8:03 PM UTC.