March 11, 1999 Earthquake: Zhangbei County, NE, China
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Zhangbei County, NE, China on March 11, 1999 at 13:18:09 UTC, 33 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
- March 11, 1999
- Time
- 13:18:09 UTC
- Place
- Zhangbei County, NE, China
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 41.131° N, 114.658° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Injuries
- 3
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 200
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.
Three people injured, at least 200 houses destroyed and 3,000 houses damaged in Zhangbei County. Felt as far as Beijing. (reference #1053)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 28, 1626, Shanxi Province, China
- May 3, 1305, Huairen, Datong, Shanxi Province, China
- September 30, 1730, Beijing, China
- September 294, Beijing, China
- January 10, 1998, Shangyi-Zhangbei, Hebei, Northeastern, China
- October 6, 1628, Hebei Province, China
- October 18, 1989, Shanxi and Hebei Provinces, Datong, China
- December 31, 1956, Hebei Province, China
- July 12, 1720, Hebei Province, China
- September 8, 1337, Huailai, Hebei, China
- November 1, 1999, Northeastern, Shanxi, China
- January 26, 1911, Hebei Province, China
- March 25, 1991, NE, Datong, China
- January 29, 1484, Beijing, China
- April 1022, Datong, Shaanxi Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1999The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1999Recent 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 5518.