January 10, 1573 Earthquake: Minxian, Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Minxian, Gansu Province, China on January 10, 1573.
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
- January 10, 1573
- Place
- Minxian, Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.400° N, 104.000° 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.
January 10, 1573, Minxian, Gansu Province, 34.4 N, 104 E, magnitude 6.75, intensity VIII- IX.
80-90% of the temple city walls, and public and private
houses collapsed (Some said that half of them
collapsed). Three gate towers fell down, only the
west tower survived. A pit emerged during shaking,
from which red water gushed out. Uncountable
people and livestock were killed. Shocks
continued for more than ten days. The earthquake
also struck in Longxi and Yinchuan.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- July 1, 1879, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1654, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- September 2, 1765, Wushan, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
- February 22, 186 BC, Gansu Province, China
- July 20, 1881, Gansu Province, China
- December 18, 2023, Jishishan, Gansu Province, China
- August 1, 1936, Gansu Province, China
- March 19, 734, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 2013, Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China
- January 14, 1885, Gansu Province, China
- September 10, 1837, Gansu Province, China
- January 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- August 8, 2017, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
- June 18, 1822, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1573The 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 7941.