Very Strong earthquake - Western Sichuan, China on April 20, 2013

Most important Earthquake Data:

Magnitude : 6.6

Local Time (conversion only below land) : 2013-04-20 08:02:48

GMT/UTC Time : 2013-04-20 00:02:48

Depth (Hypocenter) : 20 km

Depth and Magnitude updates in the list below.

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Click on the "I Felt It" button behind the corresponding earthquake. Your earthquake experience is not only important for science, but also for people in the area as well as our global readership.

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SRC Location UTC Date/time M D INFO
GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 20:53 5.1 21 MAP
EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 20:53 5.1 20 MAP I Felt It INFO
  • xi,an - les verres et les lampes ont bougé
  • USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 20:53 5.2 9 MAP
  • Sicuan - I was awakened because my bed was shaking and the windows were rattling
  • USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 19:54 4.4 10 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 19:54 4.6 10 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 19:54 4.5 20 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 18:32 4.6 35 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 18:32 4.4 11 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 18:32 4.6 100 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 16:14 4.5 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 16:14 4.6 100 MAP
    USGS Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 16:14 4.6 16 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 11:12 4.8 10 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 11:12 4.8 12 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 11:12 4.8 10 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 10:59 4.5 10 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 10:59 4.5 10 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 09:45 4.4 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 09:45 4.4 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 07:18 4.6 10 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 07:18 4.6 10 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 07:18 4.5 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 03:34 5.2 20 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 03:34 5.2 19 MAP
    USGS Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 03:34 5.1 12 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:38 4.7 21 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:38 4.7 20 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:38 4.6 12 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:19 4.7 18 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:19 4.6 20 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 02:19 4.5 12 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:37 4.9 17 MAP
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:37 5.0 20 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:37 5.1 12 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:26 4.8 10 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:26 4.6 12 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:25 4.8 10 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:20 4.6 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:20 4.8 12 MAP
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:20 4.8 11 MAP
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:11 5.0 20 MAP
    USGS Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:11 5.0 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:11 4.9 22 MAP
    USGS Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:11 5.0 10 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:02 4.8 20 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:02 4.8 24 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 01:02 4.7 10 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:37 5.0 15 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:37 4.9 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:37 4.8 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:31 5.0 15 MAP
    EMSC Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:31 5.0 15 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Eastern Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:31 4.8 10 MAP I Felt It INFO
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:02 6.6 20 MAP I Felt It INFO
    USGS Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:02 6.6 12 MAP
    EMSC Western Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:02 6.8 20 MAP
    GEOFON Sichuan, China Apr 20 00:02 6.6 19 MAP I Felt It INFO
  • Chongqing - We were on the 17th floor and the we felt quick pulse of light shaking for about 15s
  • ChengDU - in 15th floor is shaking hardly, first horizon then vertical.but then building is fine.
  • Chengdu - Was on 20th floor. Lots of swaying
  • Kunming China - Lights were swinging...
  • xi'an - apartment building rocked twice. very slight
  • Chengdu - Bed shaking,door shaking as though someone was banging it
  • Chengdu - All the people in the buildings was running out, and some are almost naked.
  • xi'an - live 29th floor lights shaking light dizziness
  • Chengdu - Chengdu,China. 10th Floor of apartments about 8:15 am. More rolling than shaking but some light shaking at the height. No damage from my viewpoint
  • Chengdu - just after 8am woken up by building shaking, lasted about 30 seconds, not strong shaking but some pictures fell over
  • xi'an china - felt it at about a five, people on ground did not feel, but our apartment shook
  • Chongqing - I was on the 19th floor in Jie Fang Bei Chongqing. The building swayed lightly. I am from California, but feels strange in such a high building.
  • chengdu - on the 8th floor, shaking lasted about 30 seconds, and have just felt the 2nd aftershock
  • Chengdu - Building shook
  • Chengdu - I have felt my bed shaking when i was in my deep sleep. nothing fell down but everything was shaking around me.
  • Chengdu - 2nd floor. Woke me up. Windows and furniture shaking.
  • Chongqing, Beibei District - The bed is shaking and my roommate felt heart thumping voilently.
  • Chongqing - Shake bed and doors
  • chengdu - strong shaking for about 20 secs, then continued on for about 1min of moderate and light shaking
  • chengdu - it shook...almost for a minute and reminded of the 5.12 earthquake in chengdu. scary
  • xindu - light shaking of floor and walls at our bear rescue centre in Longqiao. All staff on site felt it.
  • Xindu, Chengdu - Woken up by light shaking which went on for about 10-15 seconds. Nothing damaged.
  • Xipu, chengdu - Not as bad as 5 years ago but a good shake none the less.
  • chongqing - chongqing
  • Chengdu - Daniel Rupp was naked.
  • Chengdu airport - In the airport having breakfast. Spilled all my soybean milk. Flight should be delayed
  • Chongqing - We felt it in Yubei Chongqing for about 20 seconds at 0800.
  • Xindu - Whole building was shaking. Everyone evacuated. Lasted for only a couple of minutes. Small aftershocks felt in last hour
  • Chengdu - Aufgewacht im 17ten Stock. Noch leicht betrunken vom Vorabend - aber sofort geschnallt: Erdbeben - nicht der Restalk 🙂 Dauer ca 15 sek. Starkes Schütteln - leichtes schwanken des Hauses.
  • Xian - 16th floor .woke up with bed shaking
  • Chongqing - J'ai senti le lit trembler
  • Chengdu, China - 4th floor shaking a little, very small aftermath shaking still now
  • Xindu - Very frightening for a foreigner in China. Building shook and we had to run into the street.
  • Chengdu Minshan Hotel - Shske waked me up and lasted about 30 seconds
  • Chengdu - Very serious shaking. But much less serious than the one in 2008. Chengdu is a quite safe city.
  • Luzhou - 17th floor in Luzhou Hotel. Sideways movements lasted 30 secs. Lights swinging. No movement felt on ground level.
  • Xi'an - I felt my bed shake for 20+ seconds. My wife and kids did not feel it at all in the living room
  • Luzhou - Luzhou, Sichuan, 30 secs sideways movement of building in 17th floor, no movements on ground level.
  • Chengdu/Huaxiba - Experienced about 14 aftershocks from then. Seems to have calmed down by now (9:45am)
  • Meishan - I was sleeping, I thought it was a nightmare, at the end I got out the bed and went outside, the people were outside already, the first earthquake in my life, scary!!
  • Nanchong - I felt it , but it lasted 2 seconds for me as I woke up very late. My collegues says it lasted for 20 sec.
  • Wenjiang (Chengdu) - J'etait eveille mais dans mon lit. Mon colocataire s'est reveille et nous avons courru sous la table du salon. Ca a dure une trentaine de secondes. Quelques repliques par la suite de faible intensite. Nous sommes descendus de l'immeuble et avons remarque que du platre etait tombe du plafond du couloir. Les locaux ne semblent pas inquiets.
  • Chongqing - I am in chongqing this is my qq number 1918150308, It is usualy hard to find people to talk to here in China so it's good to hear or see foreigners speaking. I felt my bed moving and then heard people screaming a little outside
  • Chengdu - on the 10th floor. The first big one at about 8:00 shook pretty strong, swinging cabinet doors open, swaying lights, lasted about 30 seconds. Have felt five or six small ones since then, minor swaying of lights. three hours later, still difficult to call people...
  • Chongqing - I was in bed at the foreign experts building in my apartment on the mountainside when the very heavy swaying from side to side happened. I thought I was dreaming at first and then woke to see it was real. I am on the third floor which is actually the ground level as the building is set along the rocky platform of the mountain. It is the third time this year I have felt an earthquake. Two others in the Kingdom of Tonga were 5 and 5.2 and they were different with shaking and rumbling like a tr
  • Hoima hospital cell in kahoora division - With eyes full of sleep i first hurried to take cover to see the person trying to break into my garage but when the windows,doors and roof started vibrating at the same time i realised it was an earthquake tremor and switched on my radio and started my computer to inform my friends
  • Chengdu - Woke up at 8.05 am due to the shaking, people run out of the building, books moved from the shelve, tiles fall from the wall, slight aftershocks.
  • Suining Sichuan - shaking in two wave, second wave was stronger,,,lasted about 30 seconds or less no damage to buildings
  • Chengdu - Woke in my bed on the 5th floor to find a bouncing bed and a shaking building. Most residents fled to the street, clothed or unclothed. Last experience was a 5.4 quake in Adelaide, Australia in 1954. This one was quite frightening for me. The quick response from the government was absolutely amazing. Aftershocks were felt here until 12pm
  • Chongqing - Felt like a heavy pile-driver hammering foundations next door. Hanging towel swinging slightly. I live at a 15th floor in a very densely populated neighbourhood in JFB, with very high buildings (+20stories) of Maoist construction, right behind the new Shangri-La hotel (58+stories) ; My main thought then: not a single one of this huge old concrete buildings would survive a direct hit, it would be an absolute mess in Chongqing.
  • Beibei district, Chongqing - The bed was shaking but i didn't realize it's an earthquake. Many of my classmates rushed out of their rooms, some even naked. Well, May God bless Ya'an and China!
  • Chengdu - Felt the initial shake, some things fell of shelves, my bed was shaking, books shelves, etc. Was feeling aftershocks throughout the day.

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    SHARE YOUR EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCE WITH US

    I felt the shaking *
    Country where you felt the earthquake *
    City/Village where you felt the earthquake *
    Street or suburb (area) where you felt the earthquake
    Latitude (area) where you felt the earthquake
    Longitude (area) where you felt the earthquake
    Shaking Strength *
    MMI II (Very weak shaking) ?
    People :
    Felt by persons at rest, on upper floors or favorably placed.
    MMI III (Weak shaking) ?
    People :
    Felt indoors; hanging objects may swing, vibration similar to passing of light trucks, duration may be estimated, may not be recognized as an earthquake.
    MMI IV (Light shaking) ?
    People :
    Generally noticed indoors but not outside. Light sleepers may be awakened. Vibration may be likened to the passing of heavy traffic, or to the jolt of a heavy object falling or striking the building.
    Fittings :
    Doors and windows rattle. Glassware and crockery rattle. Liquids in open vessels may be slightly disturbed. Standing motorcars may rock.
    Structures :
    Walls and frames of buildings, and partitions and suspended ceilings in commercial buildings, may be heard to creak.
    MMI V (Moderate shaking) ?
    People :
    Generally felt outside, and by almost everyone indoors. Most sleepers awakened. A few people alarmed.
    Fittings :
    Small unstable objects are displaced or upset. Some glassware and crockery may be broken. Hanging pictures knock against the wall. Open doors may swing. Cupboard doors secured by magnetic catches may open. Pendulum clocks stop, start, or change rate.
    Structures :
    Some large display windows cracked. A few earthenware toilet fixtures cracked.
    MMI VI (Strong shaking) ?
    People Felt by all. People and animals alarmed. Many run outside. Difficulty experienced in walking steadily.
    Fittings :
    Objects fall from shelves. Pictures fall from walls. Some furniture moved on smooth floors, some unsecured free-standing fireplaces moved. Glassware and crockery broken. Very unstable furniture overturned. Small church and school bells ring. Appliances move on bench or table tops. Filing cabinets or "easy glide" drawers may open (or shut).
    Structures :
    Slight damage to buildings with low standard. Some stucco or cement plaster falls. Large display windows broken. Damage to a few weak domestic chimneys, some may fall.
    Environment :
    Trees and bushes shake, or are heard to rustle. Loose material may be dislodged from sloping ground, e.g. existing slides, talus slopes, shingle slides.
    MMI VII (Very strong shaking) ?
    People
    General alarm. Difficulty experienced in standing. Noticed by motorcar drivers who may stop.
    Fittings :
    Large bells ring. Furniture moves on smooth floors, may move on carpeted floors. Substantial damage to fragile contents of buildings.
    Structures :
    Unreinforced stone and brick walls cracked. Low standard buildings cracked with some minor masonry falls. A few instances of damage to buildings of ordinary workmanship. Unbraced parapets, unbraced brick gables, and architectural ornaments fall. Roofing tiles, especially ridge tiles may be dislodged. Many unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, often falling from roof-line. Water tanks Type I burst. A few instances of damage to brick veneers and plaster or cement-based linings. Unrestrained water cylinders (hot-water cylinders) may move and leak. Some common windows cracked. Suspended ceilings damaged.
    Environment :
    Water made turbid by stirred up mud. Small slides such as falls of sand and gravel banks, and small rock-falls from steep slopes and cuttings. Instances of settlement of unconsolidated or wet, or weak soils. Some fine cracks appear in sloping ground. A few instances of liquefaction (i.e. small water and sand ejections).
    MMI VIII (Severe shaking) ?
    People Alarm may approach panic. Steering of motorcars greatly affected. Structures : Low standard buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. ordinary workmanship buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged in some cases. A few instances of damage to buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes. Monuments and pre-1976 elevated tanks and factory stacks twisted or brought down. Some pre-1965 infill masonry panels damaged. A few post-1980 brick veneers damaged. Decayed timber piles of houses damaged. Houses not secured to foundations may move. Most unreinforced domestic chimneys damaged, some below roof-line, many brought down. Environment : Cracks appear on steep slopes and in wet ground. Small to moderate slides in roadside cuttings and unsupported excavations. Small water and sand ejections and localized lateral spreading adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
    MMI IX (Violent shaking) ?
    Structures Many low standard buildings destroyed. Ordinary workmanship buildings heavily damaged, some collapse. Reinforced masonry or concrete buildings damaged, some with partial collapse. Buildings and bridges designed and built to resist earthquakes damaged in some cases, some with flexible frames seriously damaged. Damage or permanent distortion to some buildings and bridges, designed and built to normal use standards. Houses not secured to foundations shifted off. Brick veneers fall and expose frames. Environment : Cracking of ground conspicuous. Landsliding general on steep slopes. Liquefaction effects intensified and more widespread, with large lateral spreading and flow sliding adjacent to streams, canals, lakes, etc.
    Tell us your experience and how many seconds the shaking lasted + let us know if your property has been damaged (even slight damage). (max. 500 characters)
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