October 1, 1961 Earthquake: Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Gansu Province, China on October 1, 1961 at 00:16:01 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, 1961
- Time
- 00:16:01 UTC
- Place
- Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.330° N, 104.780° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 10
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, 1961, 08:16:01 local time, East of Minxian, Gansu Province, 34 deg 20 min N, 104 deg 47 min E, magnitude 5.7, intensity VII.
Meizoseismal region: In Gushu Village and Xinzhuang,
houses of 10 families collapsed, and were 110 longer inhabitable. Besides, 18 houses had fallen walls, 16 fallen roofs, and 2 were shaken out of joints. Wall fissures were common. Rocks fell and roads were blocked. A ground fissure 60 m in length and 3-5 cm in width occurred in Gushu Village.
The shock was felt in Minxian, Qin'an, Qjngshui, Gangu, Tianshul, Xihe, LIXlaI1, Wushan, Zhouqu, Wudu, Longxi, Dingxi and Lanzhou.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- July 1, 1879, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1654, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- September 2, 1765, Wushan, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
- February 22, 186 BC, Gansu Province, China
- July 20, 1881, Gansu Province, China
- August 1, 1936, Gansu Province, China
- March 19, 734, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 2013, Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China
- January 14, 1885, Gansu Province, China
- September 10, 1837, Gansu Province, China
- January 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- August 8, 2017, Aba, Sichuan Province, China
- June 18, 1822, Gansu Province, China
- June 22, 1880, Wenxian, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1961The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1961Recent 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 8062.