April 20, 1966 Earthquake: Hebei Province, China
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Hebei Province, China on April 20, 1966 at 14:31:15 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
- April 20, 1966
- Time
- 14:31:15 UTC
- Place
- Hebei Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.3 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.250° N, 114.780° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 22
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.
April 20, 1966, 22:31:15 local time, South of Longyao, Hebei Province. 37 deg 15 min N, 114 deg 47 min E, magnitude 5.3.
Most serious destruction occurred at Zhangwang,
zhuang in Longyao. Among the more than 1,000 houses 22 fine brick houses fell down (not included weak houses) and 154 house-eaves slid off. Most people had a counter-clockwise rotation feeling. Water level rose 16 cm after the earthquake. Individual walls at Longyao county town collapsed, but no damage was found at Dazhangzhuang, Dongliang, Nanweiy Shuangbei, Dazhai, Shankou, etc.
Renxian County: 50-60 houses had slid eaves at Xingjiawan, and 3-4 houses at Zhengjiazhuang.
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 7, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- June 12, 1830, Hebei Province, China
- October 5, 1314, Shexian, Hebei, China
- 777, Shulu, Ningjin, Hebei Province, China
- October 17, 1502, Pucheng, Henan Province, China
- August 19, 820, Fan Chong, Shaanxi Province, China
- December 2, 1882, Hebei Province, China
- February 4, 1814, Henan Province, China
- March 19, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- March 6, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- March 22, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- March 26, 1966, Hebei Province, China
- December 2, 1967, Shulu, Hebei Province, China
- August 19, 1956, Shanxi Province, China
- August 5, 2023, Pingyuan, Shangdong Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1966The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1966Recent 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 8084.