On the evening of December 22, a 4.2 magnitude earthquake struck Lingqiu County, Datong City, Shanxi Province, causing noticeable tremors in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.
According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, the earthquake occurred at 20:31 on December 22 in Lingqiu County, Shanxi Province, with a depth of 8 kilometers. Residents in Beijing reported feeling the tremors, with some describing their houses shaking and furniture trembling, even waking them up.
Topics related to “earthquake tremors in Beijing,” “Datong earthquake,” “4.2 magnitude earthquake in Datong, Shanxi,” and “Tremors in Shijiazhuang” trended in the top ten on Weibo.
Residents in various parts of Shanxi reported strong tremors, with comments such as “Strong tremors in Lingqiu, Datong, Shanxi, the stove on the furnace is shaking,” “Strong tremors in Lingqiu area,” “Scared in Lingqiu, very obvious,” “There are tremors in Taiyuan, Shanxi,” “Tremors in Yangquan,” and “Strong tremors in Xiyang, Jinzhong.”
Netizens in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei also reported noticeable tremors, with comments like “I thought it was because I turned over in bed on the upper bunk, only to realize it was the earthquake in Shanxi; there was a very noticeable tremor in Beijing too,” “Fengtai District in Beijing also felt the tremor, feeling the bed swaying,” “Noticeable tremors in Fangshan area,” “There were several shakes in Tongzhou, Beijing,” “Clear tremors in Mentougou, Beijing,” “Tremors in Changping, Beijing,” and “Tremors in Haidian, Beijing, swayed a bit.”
“Tianjin feels it,” “Tianjin Nankai District felt the tremors,” “Tianjin Jinnan District felt it,” “In Tianjin, the table shook, and the chandelier at home swayed,” “Tremors felt throughout Tianjin, chair shook a bit.”
“Shijiazhuang felt it, the ground was shaking,” “Strong tremors in Shijiazhuang, I was preparing to go downstairs,” “Bedroom tremors in Baoding Dingzhou, the bed shook a bit,” “Located in Baoding, shook twice, quite noticeable,” “Zhangjiakou City felt the tremors, chair shook for three to four seconds,” “Xiong’an felt it,” “Zhangjiakou in Hebei felt the tremors, I was sitting on a chair swaying for about ten seconds,” “Renqiu in Cangzhou had tremors, shaking several times, lying on the bed was like rocking chair, and the windows rattled,” “Tremors in Laishui, Baoding,” “Strong tremors in Laiyuan, Hebei,” “Just felt a strong tremor in Laiyuan, scared to death.”
Science popularization blogger and Weibo influencer “Fengyunmengyuan” stated, “The epicenter is on the edge of the slavegate fractures on the Laiyuan Basin… This earthquake will not cause destructive effects, but there may be more noticeable tremors in the border area of Shanxi and Hebei and even the eastern side of the North China Plain.”