Significant earthquakes of 2001

November 14, 2001 Earthquake: Xidatan, Qinghai Province, China

November 14, 2001 · M7.8

A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck Xidatan, Qinghai Province, China on November 14, 2001 at 09:26:10 UTC, 10 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
November 14, 2001
Time
09:26:10 UTC
Place
Xidatan, Qinghai Province, China
Magnitude
7.8 (Mw)
Focal depth
10 km (6 mi)
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
35.946° N, 90.541° E
Country
China

The toll

Damage
Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed
Some (about 51 to 100)
Houses damaged
Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

Some houses destroyed in the

Xidatan area southwest of Golmud. Felt strongly at

Golmud. Felt in Qinghai, southeastern Xinjiang,

western Gansu and northern Sichuan Provinces. Felt by

people in high-rise buildings at Lanzhou. (reference #1250)

More

Significant earthquakes of 2001The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2001Recent 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 5612.