M7.9 earthquake 172 km SE of Altay, China
A magnitude 7.9 earthquake struck 172 km SE of Altay, China on Tue, Aug 11, 1931, 3:18 AM GMT+6 (21:18 UTC), 10 km (6 mi) below the surface.
Map
Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Magnitude
- 7.9 (Mw, moment), major
- Magnitude from
- ISC-GEM global catalog
- Local time
- UTC
- 1931-08-10 21:18:45 UTC
- Depth
- 10.0 km (6.2 mi), shallow
- Epicenter
- 46.858° N, 89.888° E
- Region
- China
- Strongest shaking
- VIII, severe shaking
- Tsunami flag
- No
- Status
- Reviewed by a seismologist
Deaths and damage
From NOAA NCEI’s Significant Earthquake Database (record 3470), matched to this event by time and place.
- Deaths
- 10,000
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
From Wikipedia
The 1931 Fuyun earthquake (富蕴地震) occurred on August 10 at 21:18 UTC. The epicenter was near Fuyun County of northern Xinjiang, China. It had a moment magnitude (Mw) of 8.0 and had a surface rupture of 171 km with a maximum horizontal displacement of 14 m along the Koktokay-Ertai fault zone (可可托海-二台断裂带). The Koktokay-Ertai fault has a slip rate of 4±2 mm per year. The rupture of this earthquake was caused by right-lateral strike-slip movement with normal component. The rupture is well preserved and becomes one of the main features of the Koktokay National Geopark (可可托海国家地质公园) located in Koktokay.
Text from Wikipedia, “1931 Fuyun earthquake”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted as written; the full article has the rest.
The article is about the earthquake NOAA’s record describes, matched to this one by date, place and magnitude.
Shaking
The USGS ShakeMap: shaking estimated from seismic stations and the quake’s size, on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale.
- Strongest estimated
- VIII, severe shaking
- Peak ground acceleration
- 31.8% of gravity
- Peak ground velocity
- 4.0 cm/s
- Map
- Automatic
Did you feel it?
No one has reported feeling this quake to the USGS.
How well it is located
Reviewed by a seismologist.
- Magnitude uncertainty
- ±0.30
- Depth from
- From location
Nearest places
Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.
Nearby
Within 100 km, magnitude 4.9 and up: 4 in the 60 days after this one and 0 in the 30 days before it.
After
Earthquakes todayChina earthquakesLive radar here
Sources
From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event iscgem906933. Read Fri, Oct 2, 2026, 5:51 AM UTC.