August 19, 1962 Earthquake: Xinjiang, China
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Xinjiang, China on August 19, 1962 at 18:26:38 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
- August 19, 1962
- Time
- 18:26:38 UTC
- Place
- Xinjiang, China
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 44.680° N, 81.580° E
- Country
- China
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.
August 20, 1962, 02:26:38 local time, Southeast of Sayram Lake, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, 44 deg 41 min N, 81 deg 35 min E, magnitude 6.4, intensity VIII.
Fissures, 20-30 cm wide and 7-8 m long, striking E-W, occurred in Quaternary Systems and bed rocks on hillsides.
Jinghe: Fissures, 20 cm wide, occurred in walls of 50 cm thick. Some thatched cottages inclined and some collapsed, old houses cracked in Daheyan.
Wutai: The gable and back corner cracked, the fissures were 2-3 cm wide and 1 m long.
Vining: The back walls of the meteorological station projected outward, junctions of ceilings were separated, some old walls cracked for about 1. 5 cm wide.
Bole: Some thatched cottages and walls fell down in
the county seat.
Gongliu: Some walls cracked.
The shock was felt in Huocheng, Xinyuan (dust fell from roofs), Wenquan, Aksu, Usu and Qapqal.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1962The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1962Recent 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 8066.