October 17, 1502 Earthquake: Pucheng, Henan Province, China
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Pucheng, Henan Province, China on October 17, 1502. It killed 50 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
- October 17, 1502
- Place
- Pucheng, Henan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.700° N, 115.300° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 50
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
October 17, 1510, Pucheng, Henan Province, 35.7 N, 115.3 E, magnitude 6.5, intensity VIII.
City walls were destroyed. More than 1,000 civilian
houses were destroyed and collapsed. Water in
wells flowed out. Fissures occurred in the ground.
Sand with water gushed. 50 odd people were
killed. Earth quaked day after day. Mount Taishan
shook. Shock spread as far as 500 km,
Old Fanxian: Earth quaked with thunder-like sound.
Civilian houses were destroyed.
Chaocheng: Houses collapsed and many people were
killed.
Cluancheng: Earth quaked. Offices and civilian
houses were destroyed (County Annals).
Tangyi: Earth quaked with thunder-like sound.
Many people were killed (In county Annals, the
time was mistaken.for one year Iater.)
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 7, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- June 12, 1830, Hebei Province, China
- July 31, 1937, Shandong Province, China
- October 5, 1314, Shexian, Hebei, China
- 344, Henan Province, China
- November 6, 1983, E, Heze-Dongming, Shandong Province, China
- February 4, 1814, Henan Province, China
- March 19, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- April 20, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- August 5, 2023, Pingyuan, Shangdong Province, China
- March 6, 1966, Hebei Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1502The 1500sRecent 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 661.