September 10, 1837 Earthquake: Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Gansu Province, China on September 10, 1837. It killed 37 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
- September 10, 1837
- Place
- Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.600° N, 103.700° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 37
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 941
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.
September 10, 1837, Between Minxian and Lintan, Gansu Province, 34.6 N, 103.7 E, magnitude 6, intensity VIII
Lintan: Of the 398 families in the afflicted villages, 941 rooms collapsed, killing 29 persons.
Minxian: Of the 67 families in the afflicted villages,
478 rooms of houses collapsed, killing 8 persons and
37 domestic animals.
Earthquakes occurred many times from September 24 to October 8 of different intensities and affecting different areas.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- July 1, 1879, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1654, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- September 2, 1765, Wushan, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
- February 22, 186 BC, Gansu Province, China
- July 20, 1881, Gansu Province, China
- October 26, 1440, Yongdeng, Gansu Province, China
- December 18, 2023, Jishishan, Gansu Province, China
- August 1, 1936, Gansu Province, China
- March 19, 734, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 2013, Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China
- January 14, 1885, Gansu Province, China
- January 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- August 8, 2017, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
- June 18, 1822, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1837The 1800sRecent 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 1797.