The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.4 Earthquake at a depth of 10.9 km, roughly 75 km southwest of the city of Songyuan, in Jilin Prvince, northeast China (part of the historical region of Manchuria), slightly after 11.00 am local time (slightly after 3.00 am GMT) on Thursday 31 October 2013. This was followed by a second, Magnitude 4.8 quake, 14 km to the southeast, about seven minutes later. There are no reports of any damage or casualties arising from these events, but both quakes were felt locally.
The approximate location of the 31 October 2013 Jilin Province Earthquakes. Google Maps.
Jilin Province lies withn the central part of the Amur Plate, which underlies the southwest part of the Russian Far East, as well as northeatern China, the Korean Peninsula and southern Japan. The central parts of most tectonic plates are not prone to Earthquakes, but the Amur Plate is affected by the subduction of the Pacific Plate to the southeast, wich passes under the narrow Okhotsk Plate and sinks deeper into the Earth beneath the Amur Plate, causing the occasional large, if deep Earthquake.
See also Magnitude 4.1 Earthquake in Fujian Province, south China, Deep Magnitude 6.2 Earthquake in the Russian Far East and Massive deep Earthquake beneath the Sea of Okhotsk.
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