June 18, 1786 Earthquake: Xinjiang, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Xinjiang, China on June 18, 1786.
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
- June 18, 1786
- Place
- Xinjiang, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 44.000° N, 80.800° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
June 18, 1786, Near Suiding, Xinjiang Autonomous Region,
44 N, 80.8 E, magnitude 6, intensity VII-VIII.
Earthquakes occurred from June 18 to 22. Many city walls, warehouses, and military camps collapsed or were damaged.
Suiding: In 8 cities including Ili and Huiyuan 4 gate towers and 5 corner towers colIapsed, 290-m city walls fell down, 2,327 rooms in the barracks collapsed, another 1,485 were tilted, 27,321 walls were destroyed. There were also houses collapsed or tilted in Puhua Temple.
Wushi: City walls, battlements, storehouses and office buildings in disrepair collapsed at several places.
The earthquake also struck Wushi, Kashl (Kaxgar) and Shufu.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 1, 2003, Zhaosu, Xinjiang, China
- June 13, 2009, Tekeli, Kazakhstan
- August 19, 1962, Xinjiang, China
- November 1, 2011, Xinjiang Province, China
- August 8, 2017, Bortala, Xingjiang, China
- July 20, 2007, Tekes, Xinjiang, China
- March 8, 1812, Xinjiang Province, China
- July 11, 1889, Cilik, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1786The 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 8113.