April 26, 1936 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China

Name: April 26, 1936 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
Start: 1936-04-26
Location: Sichuan Province, China

April 26, 1936 · M6.8 · Deaths: many

A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on April 26, 1936 at 23:59:11 UTC.

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: April 26, 1936
Time: 23:59:11 UTC
Place: Sichuan Province, China
Magnitude: 6.8 (Ms)
Intensity: IX, violent shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 28.600° N, 103.600° E
Country: China
Region: East Asia
USGS record: The USGS’s page for this earthquake

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.

April 27, 1936, 07:59:11 local time, Mabian, Sichuan Province, 28.9 103.6 E, magnitude 6.75, intensity IX.

In and around Manao, Fuxingchang and Xiaxi (Xiaoshan), all stone watchtowers coliapsed, stone bridges feli down, many temples and civilian houses toppled. Earthen and stone walls toppled everywhere 50%of the wooden structnres collapsed. Serious landslides occurred everywhere. North of

Tuanyu, rocks split and fell destroying the field and causing deaths. Fissures 0.3-1 m in width and several meters to a few kilometers in length with ejection of water occurred on ridges, mountain slopes, river banks, fields, streets and highways. Big trees toppled. Dozens of people were killed.

Mabian : Many stone walls and watchtowers collapsed. High trees toppled. 0.3 m wide fissures occurred on a hilltop.

Pingshan: Houses split or tilted. Walls partly fell down. Rocks collapsed.

Leiop: In and around Wenshui and Huangxiang a few adobe walls and watchtowers collapsed, most cracked. Hillsides slumped and ground fissured.

Suijiang: Many houses and walls fell down with fallen

tiles all over the streets.

Yibin: Tiles fell, chimneys collapsed and house columns tilted.

Luxian: Tiles fell. The White Pagoda tilted and its top ornament fell down.

Wutongqiao: Bricks and tiles fell down, walls fissured

and some of the shabby wood-girders collapsed.

Neijiang: A few courtyard walls and one brick wall

collapsed.

Jianweh The stone top ornament of a pagoda fell down.

(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.

Significant earthquakes of 1936 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1936 Recent earthquakes near here This 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 3573. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem903587, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.