January 19, 1940 Earthquake: Nei Mongol, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Nei Mongol, China on January 19, 1940 at 05:23:48 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
- January 19, 1940
- Time
- 05:23:48 UTC
- Place
- Nei Mongol, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 42.700° N, 121.300° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- 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.
January 19, 1940, 13:23:48 local time, West of Hure Banner, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, 42.7 N, 121.3 E, magnitude 6.
Naiman Banner: Houses of Baxiantong Village fissured,
with falling of dust, many Mongolian houses collapsed, some persons were killed. The shock was felt in Hailastai and Tongliao.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1940The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1940Recent 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 8014.