M5.6 earthquake Yunnan, China
A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck in Yunnan, China on Thu, Oct 16, 2003, 8:28 PM GMT+8 (12:28 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
- 5.6 (Mwc, centroid moment), moderate
- Magnitude from
- USGS National Earthquake Information Center
- Local time
- UTC
- 2003-10-16 12:28:09 UTC
- Depth
- 33.0 km (20.5 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 25.954° N, 101.254° E
- Region
- China
- Strongest shaking
- V, moderate 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.58 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.6 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 5731), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 3
- Injuries
- 32
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 12,000
- Houses damaged
- 12,000
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.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
At least three people killed, 32 injured and 12,000 buildings damaged or destroyed in the Dayao area. Also felt in Yaoan, Yongren and Yuanmou.
From the USGS event page for usp000cagn. 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
- V, moderate shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 10.0% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 1.9 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
Fault motion and ground failure
How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.
- Faulting
- Strike-slip
- Nodal plane 1
- Strike 18°, dip 88°, rake -1°
- Nodal plane 2
- Strike 108°, dip 89°, rake -178°
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Depth from
- OPERATOR_ASSIGNED
- Station coverage gap
- 52°
- Stations used
- 147
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 2.6 and up: 6 in the 60 days after this one and 1 in the 30 days before it.
After
- 3.953 km SSW of Dadukou, China · 8388 days ago · 33 km deep · 33 km away
- 4.572 km SSW of Dadukou, China · 8388 days ago · 33 km deep · 10 km away
- 3.784 km SSW of Dadukou, China · 8385 days ago · 33 km deep · 5 km away
- 4.492 km SW of Dadukou, China · 8373 days ago · 33 km deep · 18 km away
- 4.657 km SE of Lijiang, China · 8369 days ago · 33 km deep · 89 km away
- 3.552 km SE of Lijiang, China · 8369 days ago · 33 km deep · 93 km away
Before
Earthquakes todayChina earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000cagn (also filed as gcmtb101603a, gcmt20031016122809, atlas20031016122809, iscgem7159101). Read Sat, Oct 3, 2026, 7:08 PM UTC.