November 21, 1748 Earthquake: Ningxia, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Ningxia, China on November 21, 1748. It killed 40 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
- November 21, 1748
- Place
- Ningxia, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 36.400° N, 106.100° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 40
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 130
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.
November 21-22, 1748, N of Guyuan, Ningxia Autonomous Region, 36.40 N, 106.1 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VIII.
In and around Baizuizi and Heichengzi (town), altogether
more than 130 civilian houses and cave dwellings collapsed in more than 20 villages. More than 40 people and more than 20 cows and donkeys were killed.
Guyuan: An earth city wall outside Nanguan collapsed.
The earthquake also occurred at Lingtai, Jingning,
Pingliang, Jingchuan, Huanxian in Ningxia and
Tongchuan of Shaanxi Province.
Note: The present Heicheng Town north of Guyuan
was probably Helchengai. The site of Baizuizi
was uncertain.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 16, 1920, Gansu Province, Shanxi Province, China
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- October 25, 1622, Pingliang, Longde, Ningxia, China
- June 2, 1219, Ningxia, China
- September 12, 1306, Kaicheng, Ningxia, China
- October 14, 1709, Ningxia, China
- July 25, 1561, E of Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- May 26, 1852, Ningxia, China
- April 14, 1982, Gansu Province, China
- April 18, 1352, Gansu Province, China
- February 15, 1627, Ningxia, China
- April 10, 1495, Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- July 14, 876, Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China
- July 3, 1343, Nan Pi Tsin Nan, Hunan Province, China
- September 28, 1704, Longxian, Shaanxi Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1748The 1700sRecent 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 1301.