September 16, 1488 Earthquake: Maowen, Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Maowen, Sichuan Province, China on September 16, 1488.
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
- September 16, 1488
- Place
- Maowen, Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 31.700° N, 103.900° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 37
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.
September 16, 1488, in and around Maowen, Sichuan Province, 31.7 N, 103.9 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VI-VII. 37 blockhouses collapsed at six stockaded villages including Huangtou and others. Some people were killed. Shocks also struck Deyang, Guanghan and Beichuan. Note: Huangtau Stockaded Village cannot be verified. (reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 12, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- July 1, 1879, Gansu Province, China
- August 25, 1933, Sichuan Province, China
- April 20, 2013, Longmen, Sichuan Province, China
- August 8, 2017, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
- October 8, 1941, Sichuan Province, China
- June 18, 1822, Gansu Province, China
- June 22, 1880, Wenxian, Gansu Province, China
- May 25, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- June 1, 2022, Sichuan Province, China
- August 5, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- December 9, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- September 22, 1989, Xiaojin County, Sichuan Province, China
- July 24, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- February 7, 1958, Sichuan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1488The 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 7917.