December 16, 1679 Earthquake: Jiangsu Province, China
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Jiangsu Province, China on December 16, 1679.
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
- December 16, 1679
- Place
- Jiangsu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 31.400° N, 119.500° 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.
December 16, 1679 Liyang, Jiangsu Province, 31.4 N, 119.5 E, magnitude 5, intensity VI-VII. Buildings collapsed and people were killed. (reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 1037, Taichou, Jiangsu Province, China
- July 9, 1979, Liyang, Jiangsu Province, China
- August 16, 1372, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
- July 19, 1928, Sichuan Province, China
- July 20, 2012, Jiangsu Province, China
- April 22, 1974, Jiangsu Province, China
- October 999, Changzhou, Jiangsu Province, China
- January 3, 1930, Jiangsu Province, China
- August 4, 499, Jiangsu Province, China
- June 17, 1509, E. China Sea
- October 30, 1868, Anhui Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1679The 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 7961.