November 26, 2012 Earthquake: Ruoqiang, Xinjiang Province, China

2013, November 26, 05:33:48.8 UTC. 40.411 N, 90.355 E, 10 km depth, 5.6 mb, 5.1 Mw. Southern Xinjiang, China.

Some houses damaged in Xinjiang.

Tectonic Summary

Seismotectonics of the Himalaya and Vicinity

Seismicity in the Himalaya dominantly results from the continental collision of the India and Eurasia plates, which are converging at a relative rate of 40-50 mm/yr. Northward underthrusting of India beneath Eurasia generates numerous earthquakes and consequently makes this area one of the most seismically hazardous regions on Earth. The surface expression of the plate boundary is marked by the foothills of the north-south trending Sulaiman Range in the west, the Indo-Burmese Arc in the east and the east-west trending Himalaya Front in the north of India.

The India-Eurasia plate boundary is a diffuse boundary, which in the region near the north of India, lies within the limits of the Indus-Tsangpo (also called the Yarlung-Zangbo) Suture to the north and the Main Frontal Thrust to the south. The Indus-Tsangpo Suture Zone is located roughly 200 km north of the Himalaya Front and is defined by an exposed ophiolite chain along its southern margin. The narrow (<200km) Himalaya Front includes numerous east-west trending, parallel structures. This region has the highest rates of seismicity and largest earthquakes in the Himalaya region, caused mainly by movement on thrust faults. Examples of significant earthquakes, in this densely populated region, caused by reverse slip movement include the 1934 M8.1 Bihar, the 1905 M7.5 Kangra and the 2005 M7.6 Kashmir earthquakes. The latter two resulted in the highest death tolls for Himalaya earthquakes seen to date, together killing over 100,000 people and leaving millions homeless. The largest instrumentally recorded Himalaya earthquake occurred on 15th August 1950 in Assam, eastern India. This M8.6 right-lateral, strike-slip, earthquake was widely felt over a broad area of central Asia, causing extensive damage to villages in the epicentral region.

(above from reference #1053)

Chinese says a strong earthquake has damaged buildings in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. The magnitude-5.5 quake struck at early Monday afternoon near the town of Ruoqiang in the vast but lightly populated region. Homes were damaged, but there were no immediate reports of deaths or injuries, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. Only about 1,000 people live in the area, Xinhua said.

(reference #10022)