Photo: USGS
A 5.5-magnitude earthquake was reported in China on Monday (January 26), according to the United States Geological Survey.
The earthquake was recorded at 2:56 p.m. local time and centered at nine kilometers (about 5.6 miles) east-southeast of Dianga at a depth of 10 kilometers (about 6.2 miles). The USGS said it received two reports of people having felt the earthquake at the time of publication on Monday.
There were no reports of a potential tsunami threat in connection with the earthquake. The 5.5-magnitude earthquake was the largest reported in Dianga this year and the largest reported in China this week, according to EarthquakeTrack.com. China is reported to have had two earthquakes measuring 1.5-magnitude or greater in the past seven days; eight in the past 30 days; and 134 in past 365 days, according to EarthquakeTrack.com.
Earthquakes measured between 2.5 and 5.4 magnitude can be felt by a large population, however, rarely results in much damage, according to Michigan Tech via the Sacramento Bee.
An estimated 500,000 detectable earthquakes are reported worldwide annually, however, around 100,000 are felt and only 100 typically result in serious damage. Officials strongly advise that anyone caught in an earthquake should drop, cover and hold on, according to the Sacramento Bee.