Historedia
Asia PacificEvent

Sichuan earthquake kills over 20,000

When
1850
Where
Xichang county
Episodes
1

The 1850 Xichang earthquake occurred in Sichuan Province on September 12. It caused major damage in Xichang county with an estimated magnitude of 7.3–7.9 Mw. The event involved complex fault ruptures across at least 150 km, attracting seismological attention due to the simultaneous activation of the Anninghe and Zemuhe faults.

Episodes

  1. 12 September 1850 · Xichang county1850 Xichang Earthquake

    The earthquake struck Sichuan Province on September 12, causing major damage in Xichang county with an estimated magnitude of 7.3–7.9 Mw.

Background and detail

Background. Sichuan is located at the edge of the Tibetan Plateau within a zone of complex continental deformation resulting from the collision of the Indian Plate with the Eurasian Plate. This geological setting contributed to the seismic activity that affected the region in 1850.

Seismic Analysis. The earthquake attracted seismologists' attention because the Anninghe and Zemuhe faults ruptured during the same event, where a restraining bend could not stop the rupture propagation. Historical documentation and surface ruptures indicate a total ruptured length of at least 150 km on both faults.

Sources

  1. 1850 Xichang earthquake Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-14

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.