Yarkant County, also Shache County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Yakan County, is a county in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, located on the southern rim of the Taklamakan Desert in the Tarim Basin. It is one of 11 counties administered under Kashgar Prefecture. The county, usually referred to as Yarkand in English, was the seat of an ancient Buddhist kingdom on the southern branch of the Silk Road and the Yarkand Khanate. The county sits at an altitude of 1,189 metres (3,901 ft) and as of 2003 had a population of 373,492.
Yutian County, also transliterated from Uyghur as Keriya County, is a county in Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. It is based at the Keriya Town, and is separate from Hotan County, which is another county in the same prefecture. The Yutian County has an area of 39,023 km2 (15,067 sq mi). According to the 2002 census, it has a population of 220,000. The county is bounded on the north by Aksu Prefecture, on the east by Minfeng/Niya County, on the west by Qira County and on the south by the Rutog and Gertse counties of the Tibet Autonomous Region.
The 2003 Bachu earthquake occurred on 24 February at 10:03 local time in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in northwest China. The epicentre was located near to the town of Jiashi and Bachu County, approximately 105 km east of Kashgar and 310 km west of Aksu.
The 1970 Tonghai earthquake occurred at with a moment magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme). The strike-slip rupture originated on the Red River Fault, which had not experienced an earthquake above magnitude 7 since 1700, and affected Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China. At least 10,000 people were killed, making it one of the deadliest in its decade. The tremor caused between US$5 and $25 million in damage, felt over an area of 8,781 km2 (3,390 sq mi). In Hanoi, North Vietnam, almost 483 km (300 mi) from the epicenter, victims left their homes as the rupture rumbled through the city.
The 1905 Kangra earthquake occurred in the Kangra Valley and the Kangra region of the Punjab Province in India on 4 April 1905. The earthquake measured 7.8 on the surface-wave magnitude scale and killed more than 20,000 people. Apart from this, most buildings in the towns of Kangra, Mcleodganj and Dharamshala were destroyed. The earthquake also had a widespread impact in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the densely populated Kashmir valley. A total of 7,000 to 8,000 people were killed in Jammu and Kashmir with 4,000 to 5,000 deaths occurring in the Kashmir valley. Widespread structural damage was reported across Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttrakhand.
The Jiashi earthquakes were a series of earthquakes from 1997 to 2003, with several earthquakes larger than 6 occurring between January and April 1997. Two strong earthquakes with magnitudes Ms 6.4 and 6.3 occurred on January 21, 1997, at 09:47 and 09:48 local time, respectively, in Jiashi County of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, NW China. The earthquakes occurred on a major strike-slip fault beneath the Tarim Basin. The fault has no surface expression and prior to the earthquake was unknown. At least 12 people were killed and 40 injured in the earthquakes of January 21. Another earthquake on March 1, 1997, at 14:04 local time with magnitude Ms 6.0 killed another person. On April 6, 11 and 16, other four earthquakes with magnitudes Ms 6.3, 6.4, 6.6 and 6.3 killed 8 people. Several predictions were made in this earthquake series. Some of the predictions were not fulfilled, while some preceded the predicted earthquake from 2.5 hours to 4 days. The April 11 earthquake occurred 30 minutes after a prediction was made. Rebiya Kadeer wrote that her career was significantly affected by the earthquakes, which were "one of the worst natural disasters that had occurred in the Uyghur nation in recent memory." One hundred villages and one thousand homes were leveled. Kadeer organized donations and aid for the area.
The 2003 Zhaosu earthquake, also known as the Syumbinskoe earthquake, occurred on December 1 at 01:38 UTC. The epicenter was located in the Almaty Region, Kazakhstan, near the Sino–Kazakh border. The earthquake had a magnitude of 6.0 and had a maximum observed intensity of VII on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The epicenter was close to the Zhaosu County, Xinjiang, where 10 people were reported dead, 73 people injured, and more than 800 buildings collapsed. Some people were evacuated in Zhaosu. The earthquake occurred in the cold winter, and the 30 cm ground snow covered the roads in the mountainous region and hindered the relief work.
The 2013 Nantou earthquake struck central Taiwan with a moment magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of V (Moderate) on March 27 at local time. The epicenter was located in mountainous terrain in Ren'ai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan, not far from Sun Moon Lake.
The 2013 Nantou earthquake struck central Taiwan with a moment magnitude of 6.2 on 2 June at local time. The epicenter was located in mountainous terrain in Ren'ai Township, Nantou County, Taiwan, not far from Sun Moon Lake, close to the epicentre of another large earthquake a little over two months earlier. News reports indicate that five people were killed; three in Nantou County and two in neighbouring Chiayi County. The earthquake could be felt in Hong Kong, Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, China.
Events in the year 2014 in China.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck in Pishan County, Hotan Prefecture, Xinjiang, China 95 km (59 mi) southeast of Yilkiqi, on July 3 at a depth of 20.0 km (12.4 mi). The earthquake killed at least 3 people and wounded 71.
The 2017 Jinghe earthquake occurred at 07:27 China Standard Time on 9 August 2017, in Jinghe County, Bortala Mongol Autonomous Prefecture, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China, with magnitude 6.6 and depth 11 kilometres. The epicentre was 44.27°N 82.89°E. Most cities in northern Xinjiang felt the quake. This earthquake occurred on the Tian Shan seismic zone. There was no direct relationship to the earthquake in Jiuzhaigou County that occurred the previous day.
The 1988 Lancang–Gengma earthquakes, also known as the 11.6 earthquakes by the Chinese media were a pair of devastating seismic events that struck Lancang and Gengma counties, Yunnan, near the border with Shan State, Burma. The earthquake measured moment magnitude (Mw ) 7.0 and was followed 13 minutes later by a 6.9 Mw shock. These earthquakes were assigned a maximum China seismic intensity of IX and X, respectively. Between 748 and 939 people were killed; more than 7,700 were injured. Both earthquakes resulted in US$270 million in damage and economic losses. Moderately large aftershocks continued to rock the region, causing additional casualties and damage.
The 1902 Turkestan earthquake devastated Xinjiang, China, near the Kyrgyzstan border. It occurred on August 22, 1902, at 03:00:22 with an epicenter in the Tien Shan mountains. The thrust earthquake measured 7.7 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw ) and had a depth of 18 km (11 mi).
The 1906 Manasi earthquake (玛纳斯地震), also known as the Manas earthquake occurred in the morning of December 23, 1906, at 02:21 UTC+8:00 local time or December 22, 18:21 UTC. It measured 8.0–8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and 8.3 on the surface-wave magnitude scale. The epicenter of this earthquake is located in Manas County, Xinjiang, China. An estimated 280–300 people died and another 1,000 more were injured by the earthquake.
The 2021 Maduo earthquake, also known as the 5.22 earthquake struck Madoi County in Qinghai Province, China on 22 May at 02:04 local time. The earthquake had a moment magnitude and surface-wave magnitude of 7.4. Highway bridges, roads and walls collapsed as a result of the earthquake. According to an anonymous source, at least 20 people were killed, 300 were injured, and 13 were missing. Officials stated that there were no deaths but 19 people sustained minor injuries. It was the strongest in China since 2008. It was assigned a maximum intensity of X in Machali, Maduo County on the China seismic intensity scale and Modified Mercalli intensity scale. This earthquake was preceded by another unrelated earthquake that occurred 5 hours earlier in Yunnan.
The 2020 Kashgar earthquake, also known as the Jiashi earthquake occurred on 19 January 2020 at 21:27:56 China Standard Time in Xinjiang Province, China. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake had a moment magnitude of 6.0 and a surface-wave magnitude of 6.4 according to the China Earthquake Network Center. It struck at a shallow depth of 5.6 km according to the USGS while the CENC has the figure at 16 km. Local emergency management agencies said the earthquake damaged more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the nearby populated towns and villages. One person is known to have died while two other children were injured.
The 1995 Menglian earthquake or 1995 Myanmar–China earthquake occurred on 12 July at 05:46:43 local time in the Myanmar–China border region. The earthquake had an epicenter on the Myanmar side of the border, located in the mountainous region of Shan State. It registered 7.3 on the Chinese surface wave magnitude scale (Ms ) and 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale (Mw ). With a maximum Mercalli intensity assigned at VIII, it killed 11 people and left another 136 injured. Over 100,000 homes in both countries were destroyed and 42,000 seriously damaged. Some damage to structures were also reported in Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, Thailand. The low death toll from this earthquake was attributed to an early warning issued prior to it happening. Precursor events including foreshocks and some seismic anomalies led to an evacuation of the area before the mainshock struck. It is thought to be one of the few successfully predicted earthquakes in history.
The 1937 Heze earthquakes struck the Mudan District in Shandong Province, China on July 31 and August 1 respectively. The moment magnitude 7.0 and 6.7 earthquakes were centered near the city of Heze. Although the total number of casualties has never been finalized, at least 3,252 people died and 12,701 were injured. The earthquakes also killed more than 6,000 livestock and destroyed 470,000 homes. Due to the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, rescue operations by the Chinese government were ineffective.
A moment magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Doti District, Sudurpashchim Province, Nepal on 9 November 2022. The earthquake was widely felt in western Nepal and northern India.
