July 28, 1976 Earthquake: Tangshan, NE, China
A magnitude 7.4 earthquake struck Tangshan, NE, China on July 28, 1976 at 10:45:35 UTC, 26 km below the surface.
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 28, 1976
- Time
- 10:45:35 UTC
- Place
- Tangshan, NE, China
- Magnitude
- 7.4 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 26 km (16 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.664° N, 118.401° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
1976, July 28, 10:45:35.2 UTC. Tangshan, China, 39.664 N, 118.401 E, magnitude 6.3 mb, 7.4 MS. Additional casualties and damage. (reference #1053)
1976, July 28, 18:45:34.3 Beijing local time. Tangshan, China, 39.7 N, 118.5 E, magnitude 7.1 MS, intensity IX, depth 22 km. Many buildings weakened from the first earthquake on July 27, 1976 19;42:54.6 UTC, were destroyed in the aftershock. A bridge collapsed. (reference #3959)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 27, 1976, Tangshan, NE, China
- 1057, Beijing, China
- September 2, 1679, Hebei Province, China
- August 1289, Beijing, China
- September 30, 1730, Beijing, China
- September 23, 1945, Hebei Province, China
- July 18, 1969, Bohai Sea, China
- April 25, 1568, Qianan, Laoting, Hebei Province, China
- June 13, 1888, Bohai Gulf, China
- March 1621, Hebei Province, China
- January 29, 1484, Beijing, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1976The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1976Recent 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 4737.