Significant earthquakes of 2017

August 8, 2017 Earthquake: Bortala, Xingjiang, China

August 8, 2017 · M6.3 · 142 houses destroyed

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Bortala, Xingjiang, China on August 8, 2017 at 23:27:53 UTC, 20 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
August 8, 2017
Time
23:27:53 UTC
Place
Bortala, Xingjiang, China
Magnitude
6.3 (Mw)
Focal depth
20 km (12 mi)
Intensity
6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
44.302° N, 82.832° E
Country
China

The toll

Injuries
32
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed
142
Houses damaged
1,060

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.

At least 32 people injured, 142 houses destroyed and 1,060 damaged in Jinghe. Druzhba, Almaty, Kazakhstan - CDI: 6; Toutunhe, Xinjiang, China - CDI: 4; Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan - CDI: 3; Urumqi, Xinjiang, China - CDI: 3; Oskemen, Sigis Kazakstan, Kazakhstan - CDI: 3(reference #13456)

China recorded another significant earthquake on Wednesday in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. Local media said 32 people were injured, two of them seriously, while some 1,000 houses were damaged in the 6.3-magnitude quake, which hit a sparsely populated region along China's border with Kazakhstan. (reference #11866)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 2017The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2017Recent 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 10262.