List of earthquakes in China

The collision of India with the rest of Asia has led to seismic activity throughout western China, particularly in Tibet and the Yunnan, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces. However these regions in comparison with Eastern China have a low population density. These areas also in general have poorer transport and building codes. Throughout China poor building codes increases the damage and loss of life from earthquakes.

This is a list of earthquakes in China.

Earthquakes with a magnitude 4.5 and over (1900–2015). The yellow star is the 2008 Sichuan earthquake.

China has been the location of some of the most deadly earthquakes in history. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed by magnitude 8.0 earthquakes in 1303 in Hongdong and 1556 in Shaanxi. This Shaanxi earthquake killed about 830,000 people, many dying with the collages of their underground homes built into loess banks and cliffs. The 20th century saw 273,400 people killed in the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake and a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 1950, the largest recorded earthquake in China. In 2008 the magnitude 7.9 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed 87,587 people.

Earthquake prediction was popular between 1966–1976, which overlapped with the Cultural Revolution. This reached its height with the successful prediction of the 1975 Haicheng earthquake. This earthquake had a prominent series of fore-shocks and authorities who were eager to issue a warning. However very few earthquakes have both these criteria. The unpredictable and devastating 1976 Tangshan earthquake led to a reduction of the popularity of earthquake prediction in China.

The northern regions of Eastern China are not as seismically active as the western areas of the country, but earthquakes are still possible in this area.

Earthquakes
Date Article Coord Location Mag. Deaths Description
512-05-21512 Shanxi earthquake38.9°N 112.8°E / 38.9; 112.8Dai County, Shaanxi7.5 Ms5,310 (estimate)
1290-09-271290 Chihli earthquake[1]41.5°N 119.3°E / 41.5; 119.3Ningcheng County, Inner Mongolia6.8 Ms100,000
1303-09-251303 Hongdong earthquake[2]Shanxi8.0 ML200,000+Taiyuan and Pingyang were leveled.
1337-09-081337 Huailai earthquake[3]40.4°N 115.7°E / 40.4; 115.7Hebei, Beijing6.5 Ms.
1556-01-231556 Shaanxi earthquake34.50°N 109.30°E / 34.50; 109.30Shaanxi8.0 MW830,000Deadliest of all time.
1605-07=131605 Guangdong earthquake19.9°N 110.5°E / 19.9; 110.5Guangdong7.5 Ms several thousand
1622-10-251622 North Guyuan earthquake36.5°N 106.3°E / 36.5; 106.3Ningxia7.2 MW 12,000
1668-07-251668 Tancheng earthquake34.30°N 118.60°E / 34.30; 118.60Tancheng County, Shandong8.0 MW50,000Largest seismic event ever recorded in history in eastern China.[4]
1679-09-021679 Sanhe-Pinggu earthquake40°00′N 116°59′EHebei, Beijing8.0 Mw45,500
1695-05-181695 Linfen earthquake7.8 MS52,600
1718-06-191718 Tongwei-Gansu earthquake7.5 MS75,000
1786-06-011786 Kangding-Luding earthquake[5][6]Sichuan7.75 ML100,000+The earthquake triggered a landslide that formed an artificial mud dam which blocked the Dadu River. Ten days later, this dam was breached resulting in a catastrophic mudslide flooding event.
1833-09-061833 Kunming earthquake25°24′N 103°00′EYunnan8.0 Mw6,000
1879-07-011879 Gansu earthquake33.2°N 104.7°E / 33.2; 104.7Gansu8.0 Ms22,000
1918-02-131918 Shantou earthquake23.54°N 117.24°E / 23.54; 117.24Shantou, Guangdong7.2 Mw1,000+
1920-12-161920 Haiyuan earthquake36.50°N 105.70°E / 36.50; 105.70Haiyuan County, Ningxia7.8 ML234,1174th deadliest earthquake of all time.
1925-03-161925 Dali earthquake25.7°N 100.4°E / 25.7; 100.4Dali, Yunnan7.0 Ms5,000
1927-05-221927 Gulang earthquake37.39°N 102.31°E / 37.39; 102.31Gulang County, Gansu7.6 Mw40,900
1931-08-101931 Fuyun earthquake[7]47.1°N 89.8°E / 47.1; 89.8Fuyun County, Xinjiang8.0 Mw10,000[8]
1932-12-251932 Changma earthquake39.7°N 96.7°E / 39.7; 96.7Gansu7.6 Ms275
1933-08-251933 Diexi earthquake32.0°N 103.7°E / 32.0; 103.7Mao County, Sichuan7.5 MS9,000
1950-08-151950 Assam–Tibet earthquake[9]28.36°N 96.45°E / 28.36; 96.45Zayü County, Tibet8.6 Mw4,8003,300 in Chinese-claimed territories
1952-08-181952 Damxung earthquake30°38′53″N 91°36′4″EDamxung, Tibet7.5 Mw54
1955-4-141955 Kangding earthquake[10]Sichuan7.1
1955-09-231955 Yuzha earthquake26.60°N 101.80°E / 26.60; 101.80Yunnan6.8 MS728
1966-03-081966 Xingtai earthquake[11]37°04′N 114°29′EHebei6.8 Mw8,064
1969-07-261969 Yangjiang earthquake21.61°N 111.83°E / 21.61; 111.83Yangjiang, Guangdong6.4 Mw3,000
1970-01-041970 Tonghai earthquake24.19°N 102.54°E / 24.19; 102.54Tonghai County, Yunnan7.1 Mw15,621
1973-02-061973 Luhuo earthquakeGarzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture7.5 MS[12]2,175
1974-05-101974 Zhaotong earthquake28.2°N 104.0°E / 28.2; 104.0Zhaotong, Yunnan6.820,000[13]
1975-02-041975 Haicheng earthquake40.66°N 122.68°E / 40.66; 122.68Haicheng, Liaoning7.4 Mw2,041one of the few earthquakes to be successfully predicted throughout history[14]
1976-07-271976 Tangshan earthquake39.63°N 118.10°E / 39.63; 118.10Tangshan, Hebei7.5 MW242,4193rd deadliest earthquake of all time.
1976-08-161976 Songpan-Pingwu earthquakeSichuan7.2 MS41Earthquake swarm
1981-01-231981 Dawu earthquake30.93°N 101.10°E / 30.93; 101.10Sichuan6.8 ML150
1996-02-031996 Lijiang earthquake27.30°N 100.29°E / 27.30; 100.29Yunnan7.0 MS309
2000-01-142000 Yunnan earthquake25.61°N 101.06°E / 25.61; 101.06Yunnan5.9 MW7
2001-02-232001 Sichuan earthquake[15]29.513°N 101.129°E / 29.513; 101.129Sichuan5.6 MW3
2001-11-142001 Kunlun earthquake36.12°N 90.54°E / 36.12; 90.54Qinghai7.8 MW0
2003-02-242003 Bachu earthquake39.61°N 77.24°E / 39.61; 77.24Maralbexi (Bachu) County, Xinjiang6.3 MW261
2003-12-012003 Zhaosu earthquake42.905°N 80.515°E / 42.905; 80.515Zhaosu County, Xinjiang6.0 MW10
2005-11-262005 Ruichang earthquake29.657°N 115.717°E / 29.657; 115.717Ruichang, Jiangxi5.2 MW14
2006-07-222006 Yanjin earthquake27.992°N 104.215°E / 27.992; 104.215Yunnan5.2 MW22Moderate damage
2008-05-122008 Sichuan earthquake31.021°N 103.367°E / 31.021; 103.367Wenchuan County, Sichuan7.9 MW87,58718th deadliest earthquake of all time
2008-08-212008 Yingjiang earthquakes24.9°N 97.8°E / 24.9; 97.8Yunnan6.0 Mw5
2008-08-302008 Panzhihua earthquake26.2°N 101.9°E / 26.2; 101.9Sichuan5.7 MW41
2008-10-062008 Damxung earthquake29.45°N 90.187°E / 29.45; 90.187Damxung County, Tibet6.4 MW10
2010-04-142010 Yushu earthquake33.3°N 96.7°E / 33.3; 96.7Yushu, Qinghai6.9 Mw2,698270 Missing
2011-03-102011 Yunnan earthquake24.710°N 97.994°E / 24.710; 97.994Yunnan5.4 MW26
2012-09-072012 Yunnan earthquakes27.582°N 103.990°E / 27.582; 103.990Yiliang County, Yunnan5.6 Mw81
2013-03-032013 Yunnan earthquakes25.919°N 99.725°E / 25.919; 99.725Dali, Yunnan5.5 Mw02,500 houses were damaged
2013-04-202013 Ya'an earthquake30.284°N 102.956°E / 30.284; 102.956Lushan County, Sichuan6.9 Mw19324 missing[16]
2013-07-222013 Dingxi earthquake34.5°N 104.2°E / 34.5; 104.2Min County, Gansu5.9 Mw95Magnitude M(s)6.6 according to CENC.
2013-08-312013 Yunnan earthquake28.220°N 99.343°E / 28.220; 99.343Deqen, Yunnan5.8 Mw5
2014-05-242014 Yingjiang earthquake25.0°N 97.8°E / 25.0; 97.8Yingjiang County, Yunnan5.6 Mw09,412 homes were destroyed.[17]
2014-08-032014 Ludian earthquake27.245°N 103.427°E / 27.245; 103.427Ludian County, Yunnan6.1 Mw617112 missing[18]
2017-08-08 2017 Jiuzhaigou earthquake 33.20°N 103.82°E / 33.20; 103.82Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan 6.5 Mw 25 Landslides
2019-06-17 2019 Sichuan earthquake 28.405°N 104.957°E / 28.405; 104.957Changning County, Sichuan 5.8 Mw 13 20,000 houses were damaged

ML  = Richter magnitude scale
Mw  = Moment magnitude
mb  = Body wave magnitude
Ms  = Surface wave magnitude

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

See also

References
  1. NGDC. "Comments for the Significant Earthquake". Retrieved 29 October 2010.
  2. Science Museums of China. "Ruins of the Hongdong Earthquake(1303)". smc.kisti.re.kr. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  3. Y-X. Hu; S-C. Liu; W. Dong (1996). Earthquake Engineering. CRC Press. p. 239. ISBN 978-0-419-20590-6.
  4. Zhou, C., Diao, G., Geng, J. et al. Fault plane parameters of Tancheng M8½ earthquake on the basis of present-day seismological data. Earthq Sci 23, 567–576 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11589-010-0756-0
  5. Schuster, R.L. and G. F. Wieczorek, "Landslide triggers and types" in Landslides: Proceedings of the First European Conference on Landslides 2002 A.A. Balkema Publishers. p.66
  6. "The 1786 earthquake-triggered landslide dam and subsequent dam-break flood on the Dadu River, southwestern China" (PDF). Retrieved 9 October 2009.
  7. Magnitude 8 and Greater Earthquakes Since 1900 by USGS.gov Archived 12 November 2009 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  8. "Earthquakes with 1,000 or More Deaths since 1900". Archived from the original on 14 January 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2016
  9. "10 Greatest Earthquakes in China in 20th Century". Ningxia Daily website (in Chinese). 15 May 2008. Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2008.
  10. USGS. "M 7.1 – Westren Sichuan, China". earthquake.usgs.gov. Retrieved 19 October 2019.
  11. "Major earthquakes on Chinese mainland since 1966". houston.china-consulate.org.
  12. Zhou, H.; Allen, C. R.; Kanamori, H. (1983). "Rupture complexity of the 1970 Tonghai and 1973 Luhuo earthquakes, China, from P-wave inversion, and relationship to surface faulting" (PDF). Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America. 73 (4): 1585–1597. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 July 2010.
  13. "Earthquakes with 1,000 or More Deaths 1900–2014". usgs.gov. Archived from the original on 14 January 2013.
  14. Wyss, M.; Wu, Z. L. (2014). "How Many Lives Were Saved by the Evacuation Before the M7.3 Haicheng Earthquake of 1975?". Seismological Research Letters. 85 (85): 126–129. doi:10.1785/0220130089.
  15. "M 5.6 - western Sichuan, China". USGS. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  16. "我省雅安市芦山县发生7.0级地震（续七）". 四川省民政厅. 21 April 2013. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2013.
  17. "12 injured in SW China quake". Shanghai Daily. Retrieved 24 May 2014.
  18. "Magnitude-6.1 earthquake hits China's Yunnan province, at least 367 dead". news.com.au. 4 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
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