August 30, 2008 Earthquake: Sichuan Province, China
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Sichuan Province, China on August 30, 2008 at 08:30:54 UTC, 17 km below the surface. It killed 43 people.
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 30, 2008
- Time
- 08:30:54 UTC
- Place
- Sichuan Province, China
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Mw)
- Magnitude scales
- Mw 5.9 · Ms 5.8 · mb 5.7
- Focal depth
- 17 km (11 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 26.272° N, 101.937° E
- Country
- China
- Region
- East Asia
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 43
- Injuries
- 589
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 392,000
- Houses damaged
- 392,000
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 happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
At least 32 people killed and 321 injured at Huili; 6 people killed and 132 injured at Chuxiong; 5 people killed and 132 injured at Panzhihua; 4 people injured at Kunming. At least 392,000 houses damaged or destroyed in the Sichuan-Yunnan area. At least 66 schools, 22 bridges, 131 roads and 19 reservoirs damaged at Panzhihua. Chengdu-Kunming railroad service interrupted. Strongly felt at Panzhihua and Xichang. Felt (III) at Kunming. Also felt at Chengdu, Dali and Yibin.
From the USGS event page for usp000gg00. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.97 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 6.0 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
| 6.1 | Me, energy | Choy, USGS energy magnitude | Reviewed |
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
At least 32 people killed and 321 injured at Huili; 6 people killed and 132 injured at Chuxiong; 5 people killed and 132 injured at Panzhihua; 4 people injured at Kunming. At least 392,000 houses damaged or destroyed in the Sichuan-Yunnan area. At least 66 schools, 22 bridges, 131 roads and 19 reservoirs damaged at Panzhihua. Chengdu-Kunming railroad service interrupted. Strongly felt at Panzhihua and Xichang.
Felt (III) at Kunming. Also felt at Chengdu, Dali and
Yibin. (reference #1053)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- September 12, 1850, Xichang, Sichuan, China
- 1499, Yi Liang, Yunnan Province, China
- January 4, 1500, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- September 6, 1833, Yunnan Province, China
- March 16, 1925, Talifu, Yunnan Province, China
- July 13, 1652, Midu, Yunnan Province, China
- September 9, 1680, Yunnan Province, China
- February 26, 1713, S of Xundian, Yunnan Province, China
- August 3, 2014, Longtoushan, Zhaotong, Ludian, Yunnan, China
- January 8, 1725, Songming, Yiliang, Yunnan Province, China
- January 27, 1755, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1515, Dali, Yunnan Province, China
- April 2, 814, Xichang, Sichuan Province, China
- June 17, 1515, Heqing, Yunnan Province, China
- October 23, 1995, Wuding, Yunnan Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 2008The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2008Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 8132. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp000gg00, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.