April 17, 2003 Earthquake: Delingha, Qinghai Province, China
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Delingha, Qinghai Province, China on April 17, 2003 at 00:48:38 UTC, 14 km below the surface.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- April 17, 2003
- Time
- 00:48:38 UTC
- Place
- Delingha, Qinghai Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 14 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.529° N, 96.476° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 45
- Houses damaged
- 45
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 the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
About 45 houses severely damaged, 1,000 others
slightly damaged and some livestock killed in the
Delingha area. Felt at Golmud and Xining. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 2003The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2003Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 5691.