CHINA: M7.1 Earthquake in Xinjiang

Posted on January 23, 2024

A magnitude 7.1 earthquake occurred in Ust-Lufan County, Aksu District, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, at around 2:09 a.m. (3:09 a.m. Japan time). The epicenter was 22 km deep. The earthquake’s epicenter was 22 kilometers deep, the China Earthquake Administration announced. The state-run Xinhua news agency reported that houses in the prefecture collapsed and residents were evacuated.

Ust-Lufan Province is located near the border with Kyrgyzstan. It is located at an altitude of 3,000 meters above sea level, and the temperature is said to be severely cold, around 10 degrees below zero. State-run CCTV reported images of rescue teams rushing from Urumqi, the district capital, to the Aksu area.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the magnitude of the quake was M7.0, and M5-class tremors, believed to be aftershocks, continued.

Xinhua reported that the tremors continued for about a minute in Ust-Lufan province, where residents said lights fell from the ceiling. They said they felt strong tremors in a wide area, including the autonomous districts of Kashgar and Khotan.

China was hit by a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in Gansu Province on December 18 last year, killing more than 150 people.