April 1143 Earthquake: Ningxia, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Ningxia, China in April 1143. It killed 10,000 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- April 1143
- Place
- Ningxia, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.500° N, 106.300° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 10,000
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 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.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
April, 1143, Yinchuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, 38.5 N, 106.3 E, magnitude 6.5, intensity VIII.
Public and private houses and city walls in Yinchuan
were destroyed. Earth cracked with springs gush.
ing out black sand. Tens of thousands of people
and domestic animals were killed or injured. The shock lasted for over a month.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 3, 1739, Ningxia, China
- October 14, 1709, Ningxia, China
- July 25, 1561, E of Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- May 26, 1852, Ningxia, China
- July 1227, Ningxia, China
- January 2, 2025, Ningxia, China
- December 17, 1962, Ningxia, China
- January 3, 1988, Lingwu, China
- July 14, 876, Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China
- April 10, 1495, Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- February 15, 1627, Ningxia, China
- July 31, 1954, Nei Mongol, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1143The 1100sRecent earthquakes near here
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 405.