August 25, 1291 Earthquake: Shaanxi Province, China
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Shaanxi Province, China on August 25, 1291. It killed 150 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
- August 25, 1291
- Place
- Shaanxi Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.100° N, 111.500° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 150
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
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.
August 25, 1291, In and around Linfen, Shanxi Province, 36.1 N, 111.5 E, magnitude 6.5, intensity VIII.
8.26% of the civilian houses were destroyed and 150
people were killed in the Pingyang Lu (the seat of
the local government was located at the present-day
Linfen).
Quwo: Earthquake occurred, civilian houses were destroyed
and many people were killed. Earth quaked at Dah, Shaanxi Province in the same year (the date not recorded).
Note: At that time, the seat of the local government of
the Pingyang Lu was located at the present-day
Linfen. Xiangling, Fushan, Hongtong, Huoxian
and Fenxi counties were under its jurisdiction.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 18, 1695, Linfen, Shanxi Province, China
- October 23, 1815, Shanxi Province, China
- December 4, 1209, Fushan, Shaanxi Province, China
- January 19, 1501, Chaoyi, Shaanxi Province, China
- March 23, 1827, Shanxi Province, China
- April 30, 1000, Shaanxi Province, China
- September 12, 649, Linfen, Shaanxi Province, China
- April 17, 1891, Shanxi Province, China
- August 19, 820, Fan Chong, Shaanxi Province, China
- September 17, 1303, Shanxi Province, China
- December 18, 1967, Shanxi Province, China
- December 23, 1862, Shanxi Province, China
- August 10, 1959, Shaanxi Province, China
- May 20, 1618, Shanxi Province, China
- September 1, 1964, Shanxi Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1291The 1200sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
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 491.