2022 Qinghai earthquake

2022 Qinghai earthquake

UTC time	2022-01-07 17:45:30
ISC event	621668769
USGS-ANSS	ComCat
Local date	8 January 2022 (2022-01-08)
Local time	01:45 CST (UTC+8)
Magnitude	6.6 Mw 6.9 Ms[1]
Depth	13 km (8.1 mi)
Epicenter	37.811°N 101.275°E / 37.811; 101.275
Fault	Haiyuan Fault
Areas affected	China
Max. intensity	CSIS IX[2] MMI IX (Violent)[1]
Casualties	9 injured

On January 8, 2022, a magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Menyuan County, Qinghai Province near the border with Gansu Province, China.^[3][4][5] It was the largest earthquake in China since the 2021 Maduo earthquake.^[6]

Earthquake

The earthquake occurred as a result of shallow (10 km depth) strike-slip faulting at the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. It ruptured a fault located near the Qilian Mountains. The geological structure responsible was the Lenglongling Fault, a segment of the Haiyuan Fault System. The rupture was mostly confined to 0–8 km within the upper crust. A maximum slip of 3.5 m was estimated at 4 km depth.^[7] Surface ruptures were observed for a length of 22 km, and the maximum surface displacement was 2.1 m. The evaluated maximum Modified Mercalli intensity was IX (Violent) near the rupture zone. Intensity VI (Strong) was felt over an area of at least 23,417 km².^[1]

By January 17, 2022, at least 584 aftershocks were recorded, and the largest measured M_w 5.3. The aftershocks were distributed along a 40 km-long zone trending east–west. Many were detected at depths of 7–14 km, beneath the main rupture area. Only a few aftershocks were detected within 5 km of the crust.^[7]

Damage and injuries

The earthquake damaged at least 137 homes and collapsed two walls in Zhangye.^[8] Four people in Menyuan Hui Autonomous County suffered minor injuries while evacuating.^[3] In total, nine people were reported to be injured, eight of them were discharged from hospitals by the following day.^[9]

Some bridges and tunnels on the Lanzhou–Xinjiang high-speed railway sustained serious damage and traffic was halted until repairs could be completed.^[10] The Great Wall of China was also damaged by the quake. A 2 m (6 ft 7 in) section of the wall in Shandan County, built during the Ming Dynasty, collapsed. As of January 2022, repair and restoration work on this section was underway.^[11]

See also

• List of earthquakes in 2022
• List of earthquakes in China
• 1932 Changma earthquake

References

1. Hongfeng Yang; Dun Wang; Rumeng Guo; Mengyu Xie; Yang Zang; Yue Wang; Qiang Yao; Chuang Cheng; Yanru An; Yingying Zhang (2022). "Rapid report of the 8 January 2022 MS 6.9 Menyuan earthquake, Qinghai, China". Earthquake Research Advances. 2 (100113). Elsevier: 100113. Bibcode:2022EaRA....200113Y. doi:10.1016/j.eqrea.2022.100113. S2CID 246434547.
2. "青海门源6.9级地震烈度图发布 最高烈度为IX度(9度)" [Qinghai Menyuan M6.9 earthquake intensity map released, the highest intensity is IX degree (9 degree)]. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
3. "青海门源发生6.9级地震 4位民众避险时受轻伤" (in Chinese). Economic Daily. 8 January 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
4. "青海门源6.9级地震致明长城山丹段约两米墙体发生塌损". 9 January 2022. Archived from the original on 11 January 2022. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
5. "Strong earthquake shakes remote area in western China". The Independent. 8 January 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
6. "M 7.3 – Southern Qinghai, China". United States Geological Survey. Archived from the original on 7 June 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
7. Li, Yongsheng; Jiang, Wenliang; Li, Yujiang; Shen, Wenhao; He, Zhongtai; Li, Bingquan; Li, Qiang; Jiao, Qisong; Tian, Yunfeng (2022). Stramondo, Salvatore (ed.). "Coseismic Rupture Model and Tectonic Implications of the January 7 2022, Menyuan Mw 6.6 Earthquake Constraints from InSAR Observations and Field Investigation". Remote Sensing. 14 (9): 2111. Bibcode:2022RemS...14.2111L. doi:10.3390/rs14092111.
8. Yang Li, ed. (8 January 2022). "受地震影响 甘肃张掖137户房屋出现裂缝" (in Chinese). The Beijing News. Archived from the original on 8 January 2022. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
9. "青海门源6.9级地震 地面剧烈晃动！12余次余震 近6000人受灾！监控视频现地震前耀眼强光 什么情况 _ 东方财富网". finance.eastmoney.com. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
10. "青海6.9级地震致兰新高铁受损严重，西北多条铁路运行受影响|界面新闻". jiemian.com (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
11. "The part of the Great Wall of China collapsed due to earthquake". turkmenportal.com. Archived from the original on 27 January 2022. Retrieved 27 January 2022.