November 13, 1949 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on November 13, 1949 at 05:27:11 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
- November 13, 1949
- Time
- 05:27:11 UTC
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 30.300° N, 102.500° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
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.
November 13, 1949, 13:27:11 local time, In and around Kangding and Shimian, Sichuan Province, 30.3 N 102.5 E, magnitude 5.5.
4 rooms collapsed in Sidaba, Kangding. Some houses toppled down in Huilong, Shimian. Rocks fell down the mountains. Several persons were killed in Huilong.
Mianning: A few mud walls collapsed in Shilong,
Shocks also occurred at Leshan in the same year.
Note: The tops of walls of a 2-storeyed building in
Shiyoufang Street were split during the Shimlan Earthquake in 1950, with a width of 10-15 cm. Rocks rolled down the mountains, and small scale landslides occurred. These data were collected in a field expedition, and may have been related to this shock.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 12, 2008, Sichuan Province, China
- March 24, 1923, Sichuan Province, China
- June 1, 1786, S of Kangding, Sichuan Province, China
- August 30, 1904, Sichuan Province, China
- August 29, 1893, Sichuan Province, China
- September 7, 1792, N of Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1932, Sichuan Province, China
- September 20, 1933, Sichuan Province, China
- May 15, 1793, Near Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- April 20, 2013, Longmen, Sichuan Province, China
- January 23, 1981, Sichuan Province, China
- September 5, 2022, Sichuan Province, China
- April 14, 1955, Sichuan Province, China
- March 6, 1748, Sichuan Province, China
- October 8, 1941, Sichuan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1949The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1949Recent 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 8024.