China News Service, Chengdu, September 5 (Reporter Wang Peng Liu Zhongjun) The reporter learned from the Sichuan Earthquake Administration on September 5 that according to the special report on the rapid assessment of the Sichuan Luding earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8, the maximum intensity of the earthquake reached 9 degrees.
It is reported that the epicenter of the earthquake was located in Moxi Town, Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 39 kilometers away from Luding County, 53 kilometers away from Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, 221 kilometers away from Chengdu, and 70 kilometers away from Ganzi Kangding Airport.
The epicentre of Moxi Town has a total population of 6,900 people, with a population density of 22 people per square kilometer (sparsely populated area).
Distribution map of the epicenter of the Luding M6.8 earthquake in Sichuan.
Photo courtesy of Sichuan Earthquake Administration
According to the estimation of Sichuan Earthquake Disaster Rapid Assessment System, the highest earthquake intensity reaches IX degree (9 degree).
The area of Ⅵ degree (6 degree) and above is about 13011.65 square kilometers, with a population of about 580,000 people. According to preliminary estimates, it may cause casualties.
According to the results of the disaster assessment, about 2,500-5,000 rescue forces are needed.
Most of the earthquake area belongs to the hilly plateau mountain area in northwest Sichuan.
The average elevation within 50 kilometers of the epicenter was 3266 meters, the highest elevation was 7142 meters, the lowest elevation was 844 meters, and the epicenter was 2841 meters above sea level.
The active faults near the epicenter include the Xianshuihe fault, the Jinpingshan fault, the Xianshuihe fault, the southern section of the Xianshuihe fault, and the Daduhe fault. The closest fault to the epicenter is the Xianshuihe fault.
Luding County is an ecological economic zone in northwestern Sichuan. According to the fifth-generation zoning map, the seismic fortification intensity of this area is VIII (8).
In terms of historical earthquakes, a total of 10 earthquakes of magnitude 5.0 and above occurred 50 kilometers away from the epicenter. The largest earthquake was the Sichuan Luding earthquake with a magnitude of 7.75, and the closest spatially to this earthquake was the Sichuan Shimian earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 (24 kilometers). The closest time to this earthquake is the Sichuan Shimian earthquake with a magnitude of 5.0 (June 1989).
In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021, Luding County was classified as an earthquake risk area from Daofu, Sichuan to Qiaojia, Yunnan (about magnitude 7).