May 26, 1852 Earthquake: Ningxia, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Ningxia, China on May 26, 1852. It killed 300 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
- May 26, 1852
- Place
- Ningxia, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.500° N, 105.200° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 300
- Injuries
- 400
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 20,000
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.
Zhongwei, Ningxia Autonomous Region, 37.5 N, 105.2 E, magnitude 6, intensity VIII.
The city walls, government offices, storehouses, prisons, Confucian Temple and schools were mostly collapsed; more than 20,000 rooms in civilian houses collapsed in and out of the city. The ground cracked open, with ejection of black sandy mud. More than 300 people were killed and more than 400 injured. Shikongsi Fort was ruined under shaking, and there; after shocks occurred off and on, lasting for more than one month.
(above from reference #3939)
1852, June. During 15 days of the month, in province of Kansuh (Chine), disastrous shaking, 20000 houses destroyed,
300 persons perished, 400 others were very seriously injured. (reference #9805)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 16, 1920, Gansu Province, Shanxi Province, China
- January 3, 1739, Ningxia, China
- October 25, 1622, Pingliang, Longde, Ningxia, China
- April 1143, 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
- November 21, 1748, Ningxia, China
- October 20, 1990, Tianzhu, Gansu Province, China
- February 15, 1627, Ningxia, China
- April 10, 1495, Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- July 14, 876, Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China
- April 14, 1982, Gansu Province, China
- November 2, 1888, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1852The 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 1930.