September 20, 1933 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on September 20, 1933. It killed 200 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 20, 1933
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 29.500° N, 102.500° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Deaths
- 200
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 30
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 20, 1933, Fulln, Sichuan Province, 29,.5 N, 102.5 E, magnitude 5, intensity VI.
More than 30 civilian houses collapsed in 20 odd
places, such as, Yakoupo, Fulizhuang and Tangjiaba,
Landslides occurred and covered up the fields with an area of about 7,000 hectares and clogged up the flow-diverting weir, leading to inundation of large stretches of land and loss of hundreds of lives.
Note: The condition of a disaster probably resulted from landslide.
(above from reference #3939)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #3939 Gu Gongxu, Zhou Wenfu, and Wang Renlong (eds.) (1989). Catalogue of Chinese Earthquakes (1831 B.C. - 1969 A.D.). Science Press, Beijing, China; English translation by Li Zengquan et al. provided through UNESCO, 872 pages.
- #1048 Academia Sinica (1970). Catalog of Chinese Earthquakes; vol. I (1177 BC to 1900 AD) and vol. II (1901 to 1949). Institute of Geophysics, Peking, China. [in Chinese]
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 12, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- September 12, 1850, Xichang, Sichuan, China
- May 25, 1948, Sichuan Province, China
- June 1, 1786, S of Kangding, Sichuan Province, China
- August 29, 1893, Sichuan Province, China
- September 7, 1792, N of Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1932, Sichuan Province, China
- May 15, 1793, Near Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- April 20, 2013, Longmen, Sichuan Province, China
- September 5, 2022, Sichuan Province, China
- April 2, 814, Xichang, Sichuan Province, China
- December 18, 1935, Sichuan Province, China
- April 14, 1955, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1748, Sichuan Province, China
- November 22, 2014, Garze, Sichuan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1933The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1933Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 3523.