Earthquake of magnitude 5 strikes China’s Yunnan province in wee hours

A 5.0-magnitude earthquake struck Dali in China’s Yunnan province early Thursday, the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC) reported. There are no immediate reports of damage or casualties. Authorities are monitoring the situation.

The earthquake struck at 4:13 AM local time (2013 GMT) and had a depth of 10 kilometres (about 6.2 miles).

ACTIVE PLATE COLLISIONS MAKE YUNNAN EARTHQUAKE-PRONE

Yunnan province often faces jolts due to its geographical location. It lies where the Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates meet. These plates have been pushing against each other for millions of years, with the Indian plate moving about 5 centimetres north every year. This slow but powerful movement is also what created the Himalayas and causes frequent earthquakes in southwestern China, including Yunnan.

Due to this pressure, cracks form in the Earth’s crust, particularly along fault lines like Longmenshan and Xiaohe-Baogunao. These areas have triggered strong earthquakes in the past.

According to the China Earthquake Networks Centre (CENC), there have been 118 earthquakes measuring 3.0 magnitude or more within 200 kilometres of Dali in the last five years. The strongest was a 6.4 magnitude quake in May 2021. Yunnan’s high mountains, which are part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, also make the area more likely to feel strong shaking.

Yunnan also has a history of strong earthquakes, especially near Tengchong in the Gaoligong Mountains. That area has seen over 70 earthquakes stronger than magnitude 5, and it also has signs of underground activity like hot springs and old volcanic zones. These are further signs that the ground beneath Yunnan is very active and likely to produce more earthquakes in the future.