March 1621 Earthquake: Hebei Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Hebei Province, China in March 1621.
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 1621
- Place
- Hebei Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.500° N, 116.700° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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 1621, between Yongqing and Wuqing, Hebei Province, 39.5 N, 116.7 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII.
Yongqing: Battlements on city walls were partly
destroyed. Houses were damaged.
Wuqing: The battlements on the southeast city walls
were shaken down. Walls of buildings were damaged
and there were people killed.
Note: The former Wuqing was located to the northwest
of the county.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 27, 1976, Tangshan, NE, China
- 1057, Beijing, China
- September 2, 1679, Hebei Province, China
- August 1289, Beijing, China
- September 30, 1730, Beijing, China
- September 294, Beijing, China
- September 23, 1945, Hebei Province, China
- December 2, 1882, Hebei Province, China
- February 3, 1658, Hebei Province, China
- January 29, 1484, Beijing, China
- March 27, 1967, Hejian, Dacheng, Hebei Province, China
- August 14, 1068, Cangzhou, Hejian, Hebei Province, China
- September 8, 1337, Huailai, Hebei, China
- July 12, 1720, Hebei Province, China
- July 28, 1976, Tangshan, NE, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1621The 1600sRecent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 7947.