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Earthquake Xinjiang Mountains, China

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Very strong moderately dangerous earthquake in the Xinjiang mountains, China

Last update: August 12, 2012 at 12:47 pm by By

The USGS shaking map below is based on a Magnitude of 6.3 at a depth of 9.7 km. The Chinese parameters would considerably weaken the shaking pattern.

Shaking map USGS – courtesy USGS

Update 11:30 UTC : Chinese seismological agency reports a Magnitude of 6.2 at a depth of 30 km. The biggest danger for this earthquake is some landslides in the steeper valleys. Landslides triggered by earthquakes are the most important secondary damage element after tsunamis of course.

A M6.2 earthquake occurred a shortwhile in Hotan district, Xinjiang China
Early reports are mentioning a very shallow earthquake.
We are currently trying to verify the data in China but their servers are down.
In a first overview of the location, the epicenter looks to be in a wilderness area in the mountains with no or very few people around.
Theoretical intensity should not go over VI MMI (strong shaking).
Based on other specialized organizations, the number of people in a radius of 100 km around the epicenter is max. 10000

Most important Earthquake Data:
Magnitude : Mw 6.3 (USGS) and Ms 6.2 (China)
UTC Time : Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 10:47:06 UTC
Local time at epicenter : Sunday, August 12, 2012 at 06:47:06 PM at epicenter
Depth (Hypocenter) : 9.7 km (USGS) and 30 km (China)
Geo-location(s) :
Approx. 100 km of Keriya, China
Approx. 100 km of Keriya, China
282 km (175 miles) ESE of Hotan, China

Update 12:40UTC : As we are in a very remote area of China, it may take many hours (probably until tomorrow morning local time) before emergency teams (both aid and assessment teams) have reached the small settlements in the mountains (mountains as high as 6820 meter).

Earthquake epicenter mountains – beautiful but with many earthquake faults – image courtesy and copyright Garmo92

Update 11:47 UTC : The closest populated centers near the epicenter are Keriya and Niya. We do not have specific population numbers for Keriya and Niya, but Keriya county counts 220,000 people and Niya (Minfeng) county 30,000. The biggest city in the greater area is Hotan (also seismological headquarters), but Hotan is far away from the danger zone (282 km).

Update 11:40 UTC : There are NO hydrodams or Nuclear Plants in the vicinity of the epicenter (source GDACS)

Update 11:34 UTC : WAPMERR, the theoretical damage data engine is predicting 0 to 10 deaths and 0 to 100 injured. These numbers refer only to shaking and NOT to landslides. At Earthquake-report.com we think that besides landslides and based on the depth of 30 km, no important damage or injuries will be sustained.
Initial predictions like we are making are taking into account as much as data as we can find. Often local obtained data are the most accurate as these organizations are often highly specialized and have a lot of instruments in the earthquake area. The more instruments, the more accurate data are! The WAPMERR data are based on the UGS data (in this case) which refer to a M6.3 and a depth of less than 10 km. If the Chinese parameters are correct (what we believe), there is a huge difference in damage potential in between the 2 data sets.

from:    http://earthquake-report.com/2012/08/12/very-strong-moderately-dangerous-earthquake-in-the-xinjiang-mountains-china/