May 4, 2004 Earthquake: Delingha, Qinghai Province, China
A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck Delingha, Qinghai Province, China on May 4, 2004 at 05:04:58 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
- May 4, 2004
- Time
- 05:04:58 UTC
- Place
- Delingha, Qinghai Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 14 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.506° N, 96.758° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses damaged
- 3,100 with its tsunami and other effects
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.
More than 3,100 houses damaged and thousands of people
homeless in the Delingha area. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 2004The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2004Recent 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 5778.