1966 Xingtai earthquakes
Series of earthquakes affecting Hebei, China / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Xingtai earthquake (Chinese: 邢台大地震; pinyin: Xíngtái Dà Dìzhèn) was a sequence of major earthquakes that took place between March 8 and March 29, 1966, in the area administered by the prefecture-level city of Xingtai in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China.
UTC time | 1966-03-22 08:19:36 |
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ISC event | 849480 |
USGS-ANSS | ComCat |
Local date | March 22, 1966 (1966-03-22) |
Local time | 16:19:36 |
Magnitude | 6.8 Mw (strongest quake) |
Depth | 20 km |
Epicenter | 37°04′N 114°29′E |
Areas affected | People's Republic of China |
Max. intensity | MMI X (Extreme)[1] |
Casualties | 8,064 dead, 38,000 injured |
The first earthquake with magnitude 6.0 on the moment magnitude scale and epicenter in Longyao County occurred in the early morning of March 8, 1966. It was followed by a sequence of five earthquakes above magnitude 6 that lasted until March 29, 1966. The strongest of these quakes had a magnitude of 6.8 and took place in the southeastern part of Ningjin County on March 22.[2] The earthquake damage included 8,064 dead, 38,000 injured and more than 5 million destroyed houses.[3]