July 13, 1652 Earthquake: Midu, Yunnan Province, China
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Midu, Yunnan Province, China on July 13, 1652. It killed 3,000 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
- July 13, 1652
- Place
- Midu, Yunnan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 25.400° N, 100.500° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 3,000
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- Very many (over 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.
July 13, 1652, Midu, Yunnan Province, 25.4 N, 100.5 E, magnitude 6.75, intensity IX.
Official buildings and civilian houses were razed.
Rocks rolled down. The ground cracked with
emission of stinking mud. Rivers dried up. More
than 3,000 (others said 1,000) people were killed,
including numerous travellers and merchants.
Menghua (Weishan): Battlements were destroyed completely.
Half of the civilian houses tilted. More than 10 persons were killed. People tented outside.
Chuxiong: Battlements were destroyed. Bricks and rocks flew in all directions.
Dingbian (south of Yongjian): Outside the south and west city gates, the ground was cracked with emission of red water and black sand. Most of the temples, city walls and buildings collapsed. Numerous people were killed, the rest climbed up the hills and tented outside.
Dingyuan (Muding): The Confucian Temple was destroyed.
Fengyi: Several persons were killed.
The shock also struck Wuding.
Shocks already occurred on July l2. After that, shocks
occurred several times a day or once every other
day, and lasted till 1655.
Note: The Zhaozhou Prefecture Annals, compiled during
the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, recorded:
"During 6th month of 1670 year in Midu, earth
quaked violently with noise. The city walls
collapsed, civilian houses were destroyed.
Many people and domestic animals were killed."
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 16, 1925, Talifu, Yunnan Province, China
- September 9, 1680, Yunnan Province, China
- May 25, 1751, Yunnan Province, China
- January 27, 1755, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1515, Dali, Yunnan Province, China
- June 14, 1688, Yunnan Province, China
- March 13, 1577, Tengchong, Yunnan, China
- February 23, 1839, Yunnan Province, China
- June 27, 1948, Yunnan Province, China
- February 7, 1839, Yunnan Province, China
- June 17, 1515, Heqing, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1995, Wuding, Yunnan Province, China
- August 30, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- April 2, 1586, Weishan, Yunnan Province, China
- July 21, 2003, Yunnan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1652The 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 984.