March 24, 1494 Earthquake: Qujing, Yunnan Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Qujing, Yunnan Province, China on March 24, 1494. It killed 3 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
- March 24, 1494
- Place
- Qujing, Yunnan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.500° N, 103.800° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 3
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 200
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.
March 24, 1494, Qujing, Yunnan Province, 25.5 N, 103.8 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII. Over 200 military and civilian houses in Junmin Prefecture of Qujing collapsed by shaking and 3 persons were killed. Note: At that time, the Junmin Prefecture of Qujing had its seat at Qujing, and had Zharryi, Luliang, Malong with Luoping counties under its jurisdiction. (reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 4, 1500, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- 1499, Yi Liang, Yunnan Province, China
- September 6, 1833, Yunnan Province, China
- February 26, 1713, S of Xundian, Yunnan Province, China
- December 30, 1763, Yunnan Province, China
- August 3, 2014, Longtoushan, Zhaotong, Ludian, Yunnan, China
- January 8, 1725, Songming, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- January 27, 1755, Yunnan Province, China
- May 23, 1761, Yunnan Province, China
- 1560, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1995, Wuding, Yunnan Province, China
- November 3, 1761, Yunnan Province, China
- May 14, 1930, Yunnan Province, China
- September 15, 1750, Yunnan Province, China
- August 17, 1936, Yunnan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1494The 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 7918.