January 1634 Earthquake: Xihe, Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Xihe, Gansu Province, China in January 1634. It killed 30 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
- January 1634
- Place
- Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.100° N, 105.300° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 30
- 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 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, 34.1 N, 105.3 E, magnitude 6, intensity VII.
All battlements collapsed. Half of the houses collapsed, and more than 30 people were killed.
An old tower built in 1228 toppled under shaking.
Wudu: Landslides occurred.
The earthquake also occurred in Chengxian.
(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
- 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
- August 8, 2017, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
- June 18, 1822, Gansu Province, China
- June 22, 1880, Wenxian, Gansu Province, China
- May 25, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1634The 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 927.