July 21, 2013 Earthquake: Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China

2013, July 21, 23:45:56 UTC

Felt Reports

At least 94 people killed, 1,001 injured, 5 missing and 31,250 displaced in Gansu. At least 1,968 houses collapsed, 22,496 damaged, 6 roads damaged, some dams damaged, rockslides occurred and communication interrupted in Mianxian, Zhangxian and Lixian. Felt (III) at Xian. Also felt at Chengdu, Hanzhong, Lanzhou and Qincheng.

Tectonic Summary

The July 21, 2013 China earthquake (Mw5.9) occurred in south-central Gansu Province, 13km east of the city of Chabu. The earthquake resulted from NE-SW oriented oblique, thrust-type motion. On a continental scale, the seismicity of central and eastern Asia results from northward convergence of the India plate with the Eurasia plate at a velocity of about 50mm/yr. The convergence of the two plates is broadly accommodated by the uplift of the Himalaya and the Tibetan Plateau, and by the motion of crustal material to the east away from the sides of the Tibetan Plateau.

The July 21, 2013 event occurred within 200km of 3 events greater than M 6 in the past 40 years, including one event of M 6.0 in 2008.

(above from reference #1053)

BEIJING - A strong earthquake that shook an arid, hilly farming area in northwest China sparked landslides and destroyed or damaged thousands of brick-and-mud homes Monday, killing at least 75 people and injuring more than 400, the government said. The quake near the city of Dingxi in Gansu province toppled brick walls and telephone lines, shattered mud-and-tile-roofed houses and sent cascades of dirt and rock down hillsides that blocked roads and slowed rescue efforts by crews trying to reach remote areas. Hospitals set up aid stations in parking lots to accommodate large numbers of injured, while hundreds of paramilitary People's Armed Police fanned out to search for victims in the region of terraced farmland where the quake struck about 1,200 kilometers (760 miles) west of Beijing. In addition to the 75 confirmed dead, there were 14 people missing and 459 injured, the central government's China Earthquake Administration said... Damage was worst in Min county in Dingxi's rural southern portion, where scores of homes were damaged and telephone and electricity services knocked out, Dingxi Mayor Tang Xiaoming told state broadcaster CCTV. All but three of the deaths, all the missing and most of the injured were in Min, a likely result of shoddy construction. (reference #10683)

75 dead, 14 missing, 604 injured 466m USD total damage. 402 houses destroyed, 5630 houses damaged (reference #13045)

95 deaths, 887 injured, 1 billion USD total damages (reference #1250)

As of 23 July 2013, 94 people died and 887 are injured. One person remains missing. 225,000 people were urgently relocated. 123,000 people are affected. 123,000 houses have collapsed or been severely damaged, while 138,000 houses are damaged to varying degrees, leading to direct economic loss of 3.94 billion RMB (reference #13505)

3.971 billion USD in economic losses (reference #13727)