December 12, 1445 Earthquake: Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China on December 12, 1445.
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
- December 12, 1445
- Place
- Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.500° N, 117.600° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- 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.
December 12, 1445, Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, 24.5 N, 117.6 E, magnitude 6.25, intensity VIII. Public and private houses were destroyed at Zhangzhou Prefecture. Many people were killed. Landslides occurred and stones fell. Ground cracked and springs gushed. Shocks occurred 9 times a day, lasting for more than 100 days. Shocks also struck Longyan, Changtai, Nanjing and Zhangping.
Note: Destruction may have occurred at Changtai and
Nanjing. At that time, Zhangzhou Prefecture
had under its jurisdiction ten counties including Longxi (the seat of local government),Zhangpu, Longyang, Changtai, Nanjing, Zhangping, Pinghe, Zhac'an, Haicheng and Ningyang.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 13, 1918, Guangdong Province, China
- April 8, 1791, Fujian Province, China
- January 25, 1917, Off Coast, Fujian Province, China
- March 28, 1906, Fujian Province, China
- September 29, 1600, Guangdong Province, China
- November 1067, Guangdong Province, China
- November 26, 1641, Guangdong Province, China
- August 30, 1895, Guangdong Province, China
- September 16, 1640, Guangdong Province, China
- May 1535, Changting, Fujian, China
- December 29, 1604, Off Coast, Fujian Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1445The 1400sRecent 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 7914.