M5.3 earthquake near Qarek, Xinjiang

What happened

A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck 46 km WSW of Shache, China on 20 Jan 2017, 09:54 UTC at a depth of 37 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 Qarek, about 25 km away in Xinjiang, China.