September 30, 1952 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China

September 30, 1952, In and around Mianning and Shilong, Sichuan Province, 28.3 102.2 E, depth 7 km, magnitude 6.75, intensity IX.

In and around Shiiong: More than 90% of woodframe houses with adobe walls toppled. The other houses or their frames titled. Walls toppled and not a single one was left intact. Watchtowers collapsed. Girders broke by the shock. Graves

collapsed and grave-stones fell.

A lot of slumps occurred behind Shiiong mountain leaving a stretch of debris 2-5 km long and a scarp 8-10 m high. Slumps and fissures occurred on the mountains along the river banks of Anning River between Lugu and Mianning. A fissure along the highway near Shilong and Zhcngtun

was more than 100 m long. Some earth banks in the fields collapsed with ejection of water and sand.

Mianning: 70-80% of mud walls collapsed. Buildings of the county government, prisons and warehouses collapsed or cracked. The north city gate broke and partly collapsed. Most adobe walls in Daqiao collapsed. Some houses and watchtowers collapsed. In Lugu a part of mud walls and few

houses collapsed. The rest were damaged. Lard- slides took place. The ground cracked. In Songlin few adobe walls broke. Some houses collapsed. Hillsides collapsed or cracked. Trees fell. All together 3,980 rooms collapsed and more than

10,400 were damaged. More than 32,400 adobe walls collapsed in the county.

Xide: Walls collapsed. A small number of houses with wooden structure fell aslant. Individual houses collapsed. In Guangming Township the ground subsided forming a pit about 70 square meters and 7-8 m deep. 1/3 of the houses in Mianshan and Xinqiao were damaged. Mud houses with no columns, and adobe walls collapsed. Wooden structures

fell aslant. Tenons and mortises were shaken loose. Landslides occurred on the mountains. Fissures occurred along roads and river.

Xichang: 5 rooms, 18 adobe walls and some walls in the villages collapsed. Some masonry pillars and walls cracked. Houses fell aslant. Fissures occurred. Sand and water spurted and hillocks were formed around Qionghai Lake. In

Lizhou many walls were damaged and some collapsed. 190 houses and 54 walls collapsed in the Whole county. Landslides occurred on the hillsides.

Puge: 12 shabby rooms and a warehouse collapsed. Adobe walls broke. Cracks occurred on the playground made of lime, earth and sand. In Tuomugou rocks fell from hills.

Ningnan: Adobe walls broke and some collapsed. Altogether 14 houses collapsed. Around Xiaoguanshan and Xinguanying landslides occurred. Fissures occurred in fields behind the hills.

Dechang: Brick columns at the entrance of the Cultural

Center cracked. In the school walls cracked at their junction with columns. Old shabby houses tilted and roof-tiles fell.

Zhaojue: Individual shabby houses and walls of

courtyards collapsed. The shock was felt in Butuo, Qiaojia, Huidong and Chengdu.

(above from reference #3939)