November 1, 1935 Earthquake: Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam on November 1, 1935 at 16:22:09 UTC, 15 km below the surface.
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
- November 1, 1935
- Time
- 16:22:09 UTC
- Place
- Dien Bien Phu, Vietnam
- Magnitude
- 6.8 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 21.185° N, 103.770° E
- Country
- Vietnam
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- 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.
The earthquake that occurred in the Southwest of Dien Bien Phu city on 1 Nov. 1935, was estimated at M = 6.8 (Richter scale) and considered as the strongest earthquake occurring in the past 100 years in Vietnam. The seismic intensity (I) (that is a measure of the effects of the earthquake on the buildings and structures) was between VIII and IX degree based on the MSK-64 scale. (reference #12758)
More recently,in 1935 and 1983, earthquakes of magnitude MS 6.7 - 6.8 occurred in the north west of Vietnam, namely the Dien Bien Phu earthquake (November 1935) and the Tuangiao earthquake (June 24, 1983). Both destroyed and heavily damaged many houses, buildings and agricultural lands in an area covering about 13,000 km2. Many people died or were injured by the collapse of houses. These were the largest earthquakes recorded in Viet Nam since 1900. (reference #12783) Note: no other source indicates 1935 event resulted in deaths.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1935The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1935Recent 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 10518.