List of earthquakes in China


This is a list of earthquakes in China.
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The collision of India with the rest of Asia has led to seismic activity throughout western China, particularly in Tibet and the Yunnan, Xinjiang, Sichuan, Gansu and Qinghai provinces. However these regions in comparison with Eastern China have a low population density. These areas also in general have poorer transport and building codes. Throughout China poor building codes increases the damage and loss of life from earthquakes.
China has been the location of some of the most deadly earthquakes in history. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed by magnitude 8.0 earthquakes in 1303 in Hongdong and 1556 in Shaanxi. This Shaanxi earthquake killed about 830,000 people, many dying with the collages of their underground homes built into loess banks and cliffs. The 20th century saw 273,400 people killed in the 1920 Haiyuan earthquake and a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 1950, the largest recorded earthquake in China. In 2008 the magnitude 7.9 2008 Sichuan earthquake killed 87,587 people.
Earthquake prediction was popular between 1966–1976, which overlapped with the Cultural Revolution. This reached its height with the successful prediction of the 1975 Haicheng earthquake. This earthquake had a prominent series of fore-shocks and authorities who were eager to issue a warning. However very few earthquakes have both these criteria. The unpredictable and devastating 1976 Tangshan earthquake led to a reduction of the popularity of earthquake prediction in China.
The northern regions of Eastern China are not as seismically active as the western areas of the country, but earthquakes are still possible in this area.

Earthquakes

= Richter magnitude scale
= Moment magnitude
= Body wave magnitude
= Surface wave magnitude