March 19, 734 Earthquake: Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Tianshui, Gansu Province, China on March 19, 734. It killed 101 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
- March 19, 734
- Place
- Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- Magnitude
- 7 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.600° N, 105.600° E
- Country
- China
The toll
- Deaths
- 101
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
March 19, 734, Tianshui, Gansu Province, 34.6 N, 105.6 E, magnitude 7, intensity IX.
The earthquake struck Tianshui. Almost all the
official buildings and civilian houses were completely
demolished. The ground opened and then
closed again. More than l00 (or 4,000 according
to another report) were killed. Quakes continued
for a long time. Tianshui, the seat of local
government of Qjnzhou Prefecture, was moved
to Jingqinchuan (NW of Qin'an County).
(above from reference #3939)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- June 19, 1718, Gansu Province, China
- July 1, 1879, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 1654, Tianshui, Gansu Province, China
- June 2, 1219, Ningxia, China
- September 12, 1306, Kaicheng, Ningxia, China
- September 2, 1765, Wushan, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
- February 22, 186 BC, Gansu Province, China
- July 20, 1881, Gansu Province, China
- August 1, 1936, Gansu Province, China
- July 21, 2013, Dingxi, Min, Gansu, China
- January 14, 1885, Gansu Province, China
- September 10, 1837, Gansu Province, China
- January 1634, Xihe, Gansu Province, China
- November 13, 2003, Jone, Lintan, Minxian, Gansu Province, China
- February 23, 128, Gangu, Gansu Province, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 734The 700sRecent 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 169.