March 6, 1748 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on March 6, 1748. It killed 15 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
- March 6, 1748
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 30.100° N, 101.900° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 34 with its tsunami and other effects
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 14
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 6, 1748, Kangding, Sichuan Province, 30.1 N, 101.9 E, magnitude 5.5, intensity VII. 14 blockhouses collapsed at Bacha, killing 15 people and injuring 34. Besides, 61 domestic animals were killed. Three quakes occurred in succession. (reference #3939)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #3939 Gu Gongxu, Zhou Wenfu, and Wang Renlong (eds.) (1989). Catalogue of Chinese Earthquakes (1831 B.C. - 1969 A.D.). Science Press, Beijing, China; English translation by Li Zengquan et al. provided through UNESCO, 872 pages.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 12, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- March 24, 1923, Sichuan Province, China
- December 8, 1816, Sichuan Province, China
- May 25, 1948, Sichuan Province, China
- June 1, 1786, S of Kangding, Sichuan Province, China
- August 30, 1904, Sichuan Province, China
- August 29, 1893, Sichuan Province, China
- September 7, 1792, N of Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1932, Sichuan Province, China
- May 15, 1793, Near Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- September 20, 1933, Sichuan Province, China
- August 24, 1930, Sichuan Province, China
- April 20, 2013, Longmen, Sichuan Province, China
- January 23, 1981, Sichuan Province, China
- September 5, 2022, Sichuan 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 8095.