M 5.0 Earthquake 281 km SSE of Dunhuang, China
A magnitude 5.0 earthquake was recorded by USGS near 281 km SSE of Dunhuang. On the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program scale, M5.0 is classified "Moderate". Among the 1,740 earthquake reports Areazine has published, this M5.0 event ranks stronger than 55% of them (rank #612 by magnitude).
Read this earthquake report in 30 seconds
- Magnitude
- M 5.0
- USGS class
- Moderate
- Location
- 281 km SSE of Dunhuang
- Archive rank
- #612 of 1,740
- Source
- USGS
- Published
- September 16, 2026
Out of 1,740 earthquake reports Areazine has logged, this one outranks 55% of them — 611 recorded a higher magnitude.
Record status: a point-in-time USGS detection. Aftershocks, revised magnitude, and felt-report data continue to update on USGS's own event page after publication.
What Happened
A magnitude 5.0 mb earthquake struck 281 km SSE of Dunhuang, China on 2026-09-16 at 12:32:03 UTC. The event was recorded at coordinates 37.7078°N, 95.4963°E with a depth of 10.46 km. This depth is classified as shallow (less than 20 km).
Location Details
The earthquake was centered 281 km south-southeast of Dunhuang, China. Coordinates are latitude 37.7078, longitude 95.4963. The shallow depth of 10.46 km means shaking may be more noticeable near the epicenter.
Impact Assessment
No felt reports were available. There was no tsunami advisory (tsunami field = 0). No alert level was assigned.
What You Should Know
This was a light earthquake. Minor shaking may have been felt locally, but significant damage is unlikely. Aftershocks are possible following any earthquake.
Source
Data from USGS: https://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/eventpage/us7000ths9
Original source: USGS Official Notice ↗
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