July 2, 1959 Earthquake: Henan Province, China
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Henan Province, China on July 2, 1959 at 18:33:54 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
- July 2, 1959
- Time
- 18:33:54 UTC
- Place
- Henan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5 (Ms)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 31.800° N, 115.300° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
The toll
- Injuries
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- 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.
July 3, 1959, 02:33:54 local time, Near Huangchuan, Henan Province, 31.8 N, 115.3 E, magnitude 5, intensity V-VI.
An already tilted thatched cottage collapsed by shaking in the northeastern suburbs of Huangchuan, the base of a wall corner sank, a masonry wall cracked about 25 cm in width, and small fissures occurred in a few mud walls. Some people were wounded. People rushed out of doors in panic in. the county seat.
The shock was felt at Luoshan, Guangshan, Xixian,
Gushi and Shangcheng in Henan Province.
(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.
- September 28, 1831, Anhui Province, China
- April 6, 1932, Hubei Province, China
- March 14, 2015, Fuyang, Anhui Province, China
- January 24, 1917, Anhui Province, China
- March 1634, Hubei Province, China
- June 17, 1954, Anhui Province, China
- July 294, Shouxian, Anhui Province, China
- October 27, 2006, Hubei, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1959The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1959Recent 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 8050.