The change in width of the deformed zone along the collisional belt, with the narrow zone of western Tibet compared to the main part of the Tibetan Plateau, is explained as either lateral escape to the east along the Altyn Tagh and Karakorum faults in the microplate model or as the effect of the rigid Tarim Basin block causing heterogeneous deformation within a generally weaker lithosphere in the continuum model.

[5] The region stricken by this earthquake included the entire Changma Basin and the western part of the Hexi Corridor in Gansu province.

In Gaotai, Jinta, Anxi and Dingxin part of the city walls and some buildings collapsed and many houses were damaged.

In the town of Changma all 800 families were affected, 270 people died and at least another 300 were injured; deaths were also recorded in Gaotai (3) and Jinta (2).

Estimates of the seismic hazard in an area based on the rupture of single reverse faults may lead to a major underestimate of the magnitudes of the largest possible earthquake.