Significant earthquakes of 1987

August 2, 1987 Earthquake: Xunwu, Ganzhou Province, China

August 2, 1987 · M4.9 · 37,000 houses destroyed

A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck Xunwu, Ganzhou Province, China on August 2, 1987 at 09:07:35 UTC, 29 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
August 2, 1987
Time
09:07:35 UTC
Place
Xunwu, Ganzhou Province, China
Magnitude
4.9 (mb)
Focal depth
29 km (18 mi)
Intensity
4 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
24.924° N, 115.608° E
Country
China

The toll

Injuries
84
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
37,000

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.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1987The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1987Recent 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 5137.