M5.4 earthquake - northern Qinghai, China

What happened

A magnitude 5.4 earthquake struck northern Qinghai, China on 18 Dec 2021, 23:54 UTC at a depth of 10 km.

Earthquakes of this size are classed as Moderate. Can damage poorly built structures close to the epicentre. This was a shallow earthquake, which tends to be felt more strongly at the surface.

The nearest town in our records is Huatugou, about 170 km away in Qinghai, China.