January 3, 1988 Earthquake: Lingwu, China
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Lingwu, China on January 3, 1988 at 21:32:25 UTC, 14 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
- January 3, 1988
- Time
- 21:32:25 UTC
- Place
- Lingwu, China
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 14 km (9 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.111° N, 106.336° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Injuries
- 60
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 10,000
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.
Approximately 60 people injured, more than 10,000 houses collapsed or damaged and 16 farm animals killed in the Lingwu area. Sandblows also occurred in the area. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 16, 1920, Gansu Province, Shanxi Province, China
- January 3, 1739, Ningxia, China
- October 25, 1622, Pingliang, Longde, Ningxia, China
- April 1143, Ningxia, China
- October 14, 1709, Ningxia, China
- July 25, 1561, E of Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- May 26, 1852, Ningxia, China
- November 21, 1748, Ningxia, China
- December 17, 1962, Ningxia, China
- July 1227, Ningxia, China
- January 2, 2025, Ningxia, China
- July 14, 876, Qingtongxia, Ningxia, China
- April 10, 1495, Zhongwei, Ningxia, China
- February 15, 1627, Ningxia, China
- April 14, 1982, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1988The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1988Recent 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 5154.