May 20, 1618 Earthquake: Shanxi Province, China
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Shanxi Province, China on May 20, 1618.
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
- May 20, 1618
- Place
- Shanxi Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.000° N, 111.900° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
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.
May 20, 1618, Jiexiu, Shanxi Province, 37 N, 111.9 E, magnitude 6.5, intensity VIII.
City walls and civilian houses collapsed with many
residents killed. More than 40 towns in Shannxi
Provo were affected, but only a few of them were
recorded on the file.
Pingyao: The city walls collapsed at several places.
The earthquake occurred in Yushe, Shouyang, Jingle,
Ronghe and Yongji.
Five days later the earthquake happened again.
Note: Wanli Record says that the death toll was about
5,000, but in Tongjian the death toll was recorded
as about 50.
(above from 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 9, 1038, Dingxiang, Xinxian, Shaanxi Province, China
- May 18, 1695, Linfen, Shanxi Province, China
- December 4, 1209, Fushan, Shaanxi Province, China
- October 5, 1314, Shexian, Hebei, China
- August 25, 1291, Shaanxi Province, China
- September 12, 649, Linfen, Shaanxi Province, China
- April 17, 1891, Shanxi Province, China
- August 19, 820, Fan Chong, Shaanxi Province, China
- 1545, Hiao Yi, Shaanxi Province, China
- October 23, 1614, Shaanxi Province, China
- September 17, 1303, Shanxi Province, China
- January 15, 1102, Chin,hsi Tai IN Tai,yuan, Shanxi Province, China
- December 18, 1967, Shanxi Province, China
- July 8, 1368, Xugou, Shanxi Province, China
- 1890, Shanxi Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1618The 1600sRecent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 7946.