February 23, 1839 Earthquake: Yunnan Province, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Yunnan Province, China on February 23, 1839. It killed 129 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
- February 23, 1839
- Place
- Yunnan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 26.100° N, 99.900° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 129
- Injuries
- 18
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 1,667
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.
February 23, 1839, Eryuan, Yunnan Province, 26.1 N, 99.9 E, magnitude 6, intensity VII-VIII.
Many warehouses, prisons, government buildings
and civilian houses, in all 1,607 rooms in tile-roofed
structures and 60 in thatched cottages collapsed.
129 people were killed and 18 injured.
persons.
Dengchuan: In all 305 rooms in tile-roofed houses and 79 in thatched cottages collapsed, killing 24 persons.
Note: The disaster effects are somewhat confused with
those of the February 7 earthquake. Thus, its intensity was evaluated at a lower level.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 16, 1925, Talifu, Yunnan Province, China
- July 13, 1652, Midu, Yunnan Province, China
- May 25, 1751, Yunnan Province, China
- February 3, 1996, Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1515, Dali, Yunnan Province, China
- June 14, 1688, Yunnan Province, China
- March 13, 1577, Tengchong, Yunnan, China
- June 27, 1948, Yunnan Province, China
- February 7, 1839, Yunnan Province, China
- June 17, 1515, Heqing, Yunnan Province, China
- August 7, 1878, Yunnan Province, China
- April 2, 1586, Weishan, Yunnan Province, China
- July 21, 2003, Yunnan Province, China
- October 14, 1925, Yunnan Province, China
- December 21, 1579, Baoshan, Yunnan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1839The 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 1813.