Significant earthquakes of 1921

August 4, 1921 Earthquake: Xiaosi, Dandong, Liaoning Province, China

August 4, 1921

An earthquake struck Xiaosi, Dandong, Liaoning Province, China on August 4, 1921. It caused a tsunami.

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
August 4, 1921
Place
Xiaosi, Dandong, Liaoning Province, China
Epicenter
40.130° N, 124.380° E
Country
China

The toll

Damage
Limited (under about $1 million); Moderate (about $1 to $5 million) with its tsunami and other effects
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.

"Earthquake occurred at Xiaosi, Dandong, Liaoning. A number of houses collapsed, tsunami broke the dyke and flooded dozens of kilometers of land. Epicenter uncertain." (reference #3939)

1921 Aug 04. Dandong (40.13N, 124.38E) earthquake in Liaoning triggered tsunami (reference #12988)

1921 Aug 04. Xiaosi, Dandong; Liaoning Province (reference #549)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1921The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1921Recent 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 7886.