1730 Haidian earthquake
  Location within Beijing | |
| Local date |
|
|---|---|
| Magnitude | |
| Epicenter | 40°00′N 116°12′E / 40°N 116.2°E |
| Areas affected | China (Beijing) |
| Max. intensity | IX in the epicentral area; VIII in central Beijing[2] |
| Tsunami | No |
| Casualties | Not reliably established |
The 1730 Haidian earthquake was a damaging earthquake that struck the western outskirts of Beijing, Qing China, on September 30, 1730. The event is treated in Chinese seismological literature as the 1730 west Beijing earthquake and is generally estimated at magnitude 6.5 ML.[1][3]
Maximum intensity reached IX in the epicentral area and VIII in central Beijing.[2] The number of deaths is not securely established in the accessible seismological literature.
Tectonic setting
Beijing lies at the northwestern edge of the North China Plain, near the Yan Mountains and Taihang Mountains. The urban area is underlain by a sedimentary basin that affects long-period ground motion.[4]
The earthquake has been linked to active faults in western Beijing. The Qinglongqiao–Qiliqu active fault and the southern margin fault of the Shahe depression are identified as likely seismogenic structures, with the Qinglongqiao–Qiliqu fault playing the main role.[1] Another study placed the event on the Qinghe fault, less than 20 km northwest of the city center.[2]
The broader Beijing Plain contains several active faults. The Nankou–Sunhe fault is an important buried active fault in the Beijing Plain.[5]
Earthquake
The earthquake occurred during the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor. It is listed among damaging historical earthquakes in the Beijing area, together with the 1057 south Beijing earthquake, the 1536 and 1665 eastern suburban earthquakes, and the 1679 Sanhe–Pinggu earthquake.[4]
The strongest shaking affected the western and northwestern outskirts of Beijing. Central Beijing experienced intensity VIII shaking.[2] The pattern of shaking was influenced by local sediment thickness and basin response.[2][6]
Impact
The earthquake damaged the western outskirts of Beijing and was strongly felt in the city center.[2] It was one of the main damaging earthquakes within or near Beijing before the instrumental period.[4]
Later seismic hazard studies
The 1730 earthquake is used in studies of Beijing seismic hazard because it occurred close to the modern city. Three-dimensional finite-difference modeling of a scenario earthquake in Beijing found basin amplification factors as high as 1.5 to 2.0 in parts of the Beijing basin.[4]
HVSR work along the Nankou–Sunhe fault in Changping found strong contrasts in sediment thickness and site response across the fault zone. The study identified areas with high vulnerability indicators in the southwest part of the survey area.[5]
A 2022 information-treatment experiment in Haidian District surveyed 273 residents and found that prior knowledge of Beijing seismic hazard was associated with higher initial preparedness. After receiving hazard information, respondents without prior knowledge increased their intended adoption of protective measures.[7]
See also
References
- 1 2 3 Hua, Jinyu; Hou, Guiting; Liu, Xida (2005). "1730年北京西郊6.5级地震发震构造讨论" [Study of the active faults generating the M_L 6.5 earthquake in the west of Beijing in 1730]. Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis (in Chinese). 41 (4): 530–535. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wang, W.; Liu, L.; Chen, Q.; Rohrbach, E. (October 12–17, 2008). Site responses and sediment structures along the NW and NE profiles in Beijing area revealed by microtremor H/V spectral ratio studies (PDF). 14th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Beijing, China. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ↑ "1730 China: Beijing Earthquake (1730)". QuakeFYI (in Russian). Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Gao, Mengtan; Yu, Yanxiang; Zhang, Xiaomei; Wu, Jian (August 1–6, 2004). Three-Dimensional Finite-Difference Modeling of Ground Motions in Beijing from a M_W 7 Scenario Earthquake (PDF). 13th World Conference on Earthquake Engineering. Vancouver, Canada. Paper No. 581. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- 1 2 Liu, Xu; Zhao, Shuai; Qian, Rongyi (2023). "Earthquake Hazards Vulnerability Analysis of The Nankou-Sunhe Fault in Changping (Beijing) Using HVSR Method". Journal of Physics: Conference Series. 2651 (1) 012003. doi:10.1088/1742-6596/2651/1/012003. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ↑ Chen, Qi-Fu; Liu, Lan-Bo; Wang, Wei-Jun; Rohrbach, Eric (2009). "Site effects on earthquake ground motion based on microtremor measurements for metropolitan Beijing". Chinese Science Bulletin. 54 (2): 280–287. doi:10.1007/s11434-008-0422-2. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
- ↑ Lim, Huey Wen; Fang, Dongping (2022). "Role of hazard information in the adoption of seismic hazard adjustments: Information treatment experiment in Beijing". International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction. 79 103182. doi:10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103182. Retrieved June 19, 2026.
Further reading
- Zhang, Lei; Bai, Lingyan; Zhao, Yong; Zhang, Xiaoliang; Yang, Tianshui; Cai, Xiangmin; He, Fubing (2017). "北京南口-孙河断裂与黄庄-高丽营断裂交会区沉积速率差异对断裂活动性的响应" [Response of sedimentation-rate differences to fault activity in the intersection area of the Nankou–Sunhe fault and the Huangzhuang–Gaoliying fault, Beijing]. Seismology and Geology (in Chinese). 39 (5): 1048–1065.
- Zheng, Rongying; Yu, Zhongyuan; Li, Luwei; Jiang, Jiyi; Sun, Zhenjun; Wu, Chuanyong; Zhao, Qian (2024). "北京平原南口—孙河断裂中段晚第四纪构造变形与地震危险性评估" [Late Quaternary tectonic deformation and seismic-hazard assessment of the middle section of the Nankou–Sunhe fault in the Beijing Plain]. Seismological and Geomagnetic Observation and Research (in Chinese). 45 (6): 39–48.