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China earthquakes in 1931

15 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or more were located in China in 1931. The largest: M7.9 172 km SE of Altay, China, Aug 11, 1931.

From the USGS catalog. Times are local to each quake.

19301932

Map

Where every quake of 1931 was located in China. Select one for its page.

Open the live map with earthquakes

Every quake of 1931

Magnitude 4.5 and up, newest first.

Month by month

Counted by UTC date, which is how the catalog files them.

MonthQuakesLargestWhere
January 19310
February 19310
March 19310
April 19310
May 193125.7100 km ESE of Shantou, China
June 193116.0155 km NW of Saga, China
July 193115.543 km SW of Wanxian, China
August 193167.9172 km SE of Altay, China
September 193116.7250 km E of Wenchang, China
October 193125.8141 km WNW of Dali, China
November 193116.4146 km SE of Altay, China
December 193115.9132 km SW of Linxia Chengguanzhen, China

What this means

The catalog is only as complete as the instruments of the time. Worldwide coverage of magnitude 5 and up dates from the 1960s, and of 4.5 from the 1990s; earlier years hold the large quakes and the ones near a station, so a low count in an early year means fewer instruments, not a quiet earth.

By year

Every year the USGS catalog covers.

Nearby

China nowWorldwide in 1931

Sources

Earthquakes, magnitudes, depths, shaking estimates and felt reports from the U.S. Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, read from its live feeds and its catalog back to 1900. Tsunami messages from NOAA’s tsunami warning centers.