October 1, 1955 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on October 1, 1955 at 06:29:55 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
- October 1, 1955
- Time
- 06:29:55 UTC
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.8 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 29.900° N, 101.400° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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 1, 1955, 14:29:55 local time, Kangding, Sichuan Province, 29.9 N, 101.4 E, magnitude 5.75, intensity VII.
About 14% of the houses collapsed in Maka, Muya and Yingguanzhai, and the rest partly collapsed with cracked walls, tilted wood-frames and fallen roof-tiles. Landslides occurred.
The shock was also felt in Barkam, Chuosijia and Chapuzi.
(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.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 24, 1923, Sichuan Province, China
- December 8, 1816, Sichuan Province, China
- May 25, 1948, 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
- May 15, 1793, Near Qianning, Sichuan Province, China
- September 20, 1933, Sichuan Province, China
- August 24, 1930, 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
More
Significant earthquakes of 1955The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1955Recent 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 8044. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem889967, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.