Strong and shallow M6.6 earthquake hits China – Kazakhstan border
Image credit: USGS
A strong and shallow earthquake registered by CENC as M6.6 hit China – Kazakhstan border region at 23:27 UTC on August 8, 2017 (07:27 local time, August 9). The agency is reporting a depth of 11 km (6.8 miles). USGS is reporting M6.3 at a depth of 25.9 km (16 km).
According to the USGS, the epicenter was located 63.6 km (39.5 miles) WSW of Todok (population 34 422), China and 226.7 km (140.9 miles) E of Zharkent, Kazakhstan.
There are about 436 807 people living within 100 km (62 miles). Some 1 000 are living within 10 km (6.2 miles).
5 aftershocks (USGS) with magnitudes between 4.5 and 5.3 were registered within the next 6 hours.
The USGS issued a green alert for shaking-related fatalities and economic losses. There is a low likelihood of casualties and damage.
Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are vulnerable to earthquake shaking, though resistant structures exist. The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block and precast tilt-up construction.
Estimated population exposure to earthquake shaking
Selected cities exposed
Regional seismicity
I'm a dedicated researcher, journalist, and editor at The Watchers. With over 20 years of experience in the media industry, I specialize in hard science news, focusing on extreme weather, seismic and volcanic activity, space weather, and astronomy, including near-Earth objects and planetary defense strategies. You can reach me at teo /at/ watchers.news.
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