October 8, 1941 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on October 8, 1941 at 15:24:20 UTC. It killed 15 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
- October 8, 1941
- Time
- 15:24:20 UTC
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 31.700° N, 102.300° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Deaths
- 15
- Injuries
- 10
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 70
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.
October 8, 1941, 23:24:20 local time, In and around Heishui, Sichuan Province, 31.7 N, 102.3 E, magnitude 6, intensity VIII.
33 Tibetan-style houses in Shidiaolou were leveled to
the ground. 34 houses in Weigu (making up 40% of the total) collapsed, among them 5 were razed. Old and shabby houses in Chibusu were damaged, among which 3-4 (about 20% of the total) collapsed. Landslides occurred at 3 places, rocks
rolled down the mountains. 15 persons were killed
and 10 injured. Some domestic animals were killed or injured.
Zagunao: Individual old shabby houses were damaged with eaves-tiles falling down. Cowsheds in Penjiadianzi Village collapsed, killing cattle.
Shuajingsl Temple: A few houses near Heishui collapsed.
(above from reference #3939)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #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]
- #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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 12, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- August 25, 1933, Sichuan Province, China
- March 24, 1923, Sichuan Province, China
- December 8, 1816, Sichuan Province, China
- September 27, 1811, E. of Ganze, Sichuan Province, China
- August 30, 1904, Sichuan Province, China
- August 29, 1893, Sichuan Province, China
- September 7, 1792, N of Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- May 15, 1793, Near Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1932, Sichuan Province, China
- April 20, 2013, Longmen, Sichuan Province, China
- January 23, 1981, Sichuan Province, China
- April 14, 1955, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1748, Sichuan Province, China
- August 30, 1748, Sichuan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1941The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1941Recent 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 3686. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem901034, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.