Sciency Thoughts: Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake in eastern Yunnan Province, China.

Friday, 30 May 2014

Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake in eastern Yunnan Province, China.

The United States Geological Survey recorded a Magnitude 5.9 Earthquake at a depth of 10 km in Yingjiang County in eastern Yunnan Province, China, close to the border with Myanmar, at about 9.20 am local time (about 1.20 am GMT) on Friday 30 May 2014. Quakes of this magnitude are potentially extremely dangerous, and at least 33 people have reportedly been injured across Yingjian County, five of them seriously. The quake was also felt in Kachin State, Myanmar, though there are no reports of any damage or injuries on the Myanmar side of the border.

A woman receives treatment for an injury following the 30 May 2014 Yingjiang County Earthquake. China Stringer Network/Reuters.

Much of western China and neighbouring areas of Central Asia and the Himalayas, are prone to Earthquakes caused by the impact of the Indian Plate into Eurasia from the south. The Indian Plate is moving northwards at a rate of 5 cm per year, causing it to impact into Eurasia, which is also moving northward, but only at a rate of 2 cm per year. When two tectonic plates collide in this way and one or both are oceanic then one will be subducted beneath the other (if one of the plates is continental then the other will be subducted), but if both plates are continental then subduction will not fully occur, but instead the plates will crumple, leading to folding and uplift (and quite a lot of Earthquakes). The collision of the Indian and Eurasian plates has lead to the formation of the Himalayan Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau, and the mountains of southwest China, Central Asia and the Hindu Kush.