April 1560 Earthquake: Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China in April 1560.
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
- April 1560
- Place
- Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 24.900° N, 103.200° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Deaths
- Very many (over 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.
April, 1560, Yiliang,, Yunnan Province, 24.9 N, 103.2 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII. Houses collapsed under rocking. Uncountable men and women were killed. The earthquake occurred at Qujing, Malong and Mumisuo.
(reference #3939)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #3939 Gu Gongxu, Zhou Wenfu, and Wang Renlong (eds.) (1989). Catalogue of Chinese Earthquakes (1831 B.C. - 1969 A.D.). Science Press, Beijing, China; English translation by Li Zengquan et al. provided through UNESCO, 872 pages.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 4, 1970, Hanoi, Yunnan Province, Vietnam, China
- January 4, 1500, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- 1499, Yi Liang, Yunnan Province, China
- September 6, 1833, Yunnan Province, China
- September 9, 1680, Yunnan Province, China
- February 26, 1713, S of Xundian, Yunnan Province, China
- August 27, 1799, Yunnan Province, China
- November 30, 1606, Jianshui, Yunnan Province, China
- December 16, 1887, Yunnan Province, China
- December 30, 1763, Yunnan Province, China
- December 21, 1913, Yunnan Province, China
- November 24, 1814, Siping, Yunnan Province, China
- January 8, 1725, Songming, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- January 27, 1755, Yunnan Province, China
- April 6, 1940, Yunnan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1560The 1500sRecent earthquakes near here
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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 7940.