January 19, 2020 Earthquake: Xinjiang Province, China

Ref #1053:

One person killed, 2 injured and some houses damaged in Jiashi. Kashi, Xinjiang, China - CDI: 7; Os, Os, Kyrgyzstan - CDI: 4; Almaty, Almaty, Kazakhstan - CDI: 3; Pervomayskiy, Almaty, Kazakhstan - CDI: 2

Tectonic Summary

The January 19, 2020, M 6.0 earthquake east-northeast of Arzak, in western China near the Kyrgyzstan border, occurred as the result of reverse faulting within the shallow crust of the Eurasia plate. The preliminary w-phase focal mechanism solution for the earthquake indicate slip occurred on either a shallow plane dipping towards the northwest, or on a steep plane dipping towards the southeast. The body wave focal mechanism solution also shows an oblique, or horizontal component to slip on similarly oriented fault planes. At the location of this earthquake, the India plate is moving northward with respect to Eurasia at a rate of approximately 38 mm/yr.

The January 19, 2020, earthquake is located several hundred kilometers north of the India:Eurasia plate boundary, on the southern edge of the Tian Shan Mountains and on the northern edge of the Taklimakan Desert. The collision of these two plates drives the tectonics of the broad region surrounding the Himalayan Mountains and the Tibetan Plateau, and causes uplift that produces the highest mountain peaks in the world including the Himalayan, the Karakoram, the Pamir, and the Hindu Kush Ranges.

Moderate sized earthquakes are fairly common in this region; the area within 250 km of today's earthquake has experienced 13 other M6+ events over the past 50 years. These include half a dozen M6.0-6.4 earthquakes very close to the January 19, 2020 earthquake; a M 6.3 just to the northwest in March 1996 (24 fatalities, over 15,000 houses destroyed); a M 6.4 to the south in August 1998 (3 fatalities, 3,600 homes destroyed); and a M 6.3 just to the south in February 2003 (260 fatalities, 70,000 collapsed buildings). In August 1902, a M 7.7 earthquake occurred just to the northwest of this event; little is known about the impact of this much larger event, though it is thought to have killed at least 500 and resulted in significant local destruction.

Ref #12614:

A 6.4-magnitude earthquake has killed one person and slightly injured two others in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, authorities said Monday.

The tremor toppled four private stores and 1,084 meters of walls, and caused cracks in more than 1,000 houses and 5,574 meters of walls. It also damaged power lines and transportation facilities, the department said.