There was a M5.3 earthquake in Kalpin, Xinjiang, China, on December 1, 2013.The alluvial plain tilt is distributed in the south of Kalpin country.The soil is mainly sandy and has silty fine particles.Due to shallow groundwater, there is plentiful saline soil.A series of low mountains and banded depressions are distributed in the north of Kalpin country.This earthquake was located in the southwestern part of Tianshan.There is a part of Kalpin thrust tectonic system that belongs to the edge of the Tarim basin.The Kalpin thrust tectonic system is an important part of the foreland thrust tectonic of the south Tianshan.This thrust tectonic system consists of a series of north-dipping imbricate thrusts.The slip plane of the thrust fault belongs to the Cambrian system.The Kalpin M5.3 earthquake occurred in Kalpintag fault fold, which belongs to the south Kalpin thrust tectonic system.The reasons of the loss in this earthquake are twofold.First, there are many old houses and self-built houses with low seismic capacity, and some old dwellings belong to building, which were already dilapidated before the earthquake.Second, the groundwater level is low and the soil is saline, so the foundation is bad.This saline soil has an amplification effect on earthquakes, and under synthetic action the housing experienced considerable damage during this earthquake.