List of historical earthquakes
Historical earthquakes is a list of significant earthquakes known to have occurred prior to the beginning of the 20th century. As the events listed here occurred before routine instrumental recordings, imaging technique using seismotomography and later observations and detections using space satellites from outer space, they rely mainly on the analysis of written sources, observation of vibrating objects and/or animal behavior during earthquakes and religious/traditional beliefs about earthquakes as "God's rage", "God's punishment", "Earth's rage", "Mother Nature's rage" and/or "Earth never quiet". There is often significant uncertainty in location and magnitude and sometimes date for each earthquake. The number of fatalities is also often highly uncertain, particularly for the older events.
Pre-11th century
Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Fatalities | Mag. | Comments | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1920 BC | Qinghai | Flood caused by landslide after earthquake | ||||||
1740 BC | Fa of Xia see Mount Tai earthquake |
N 34.2705° | E 108.92512° | ? | ? | Listed in the Bamboo Annals | ||
479 BC | Aegean Sea see 479 BC Potidaea earthquake |
N 39.7° | E 23.3° | Many | 7.0 (approx) | Oldest record of a tsunami. Saved Potidaea from an invasion by the Achaemenid Empire. | ||
464 BC | Sparta, Greece see 464 BC Sparta earthquake |
? | 7.2 (approx) | Ms Led to a helot uprising and strained relations with Athens, one of the factors that led to the Peloponnesian War | ||||
373 BC | Gulf of Corinth, Greece | Destroyed ancient city of Helike by Tsunami | ||||||
226 BC | Rhodes, Greece see 226 BC Rhodes earthquake |
? | – | Destroyed Colossus of Rhodes and city of Kameiros | ||||
60 BC | Portugal and Galicia coasts | ? | 8.5 | Caused a tsunami | ||||
17 AD | At night | Asia minor see AD 17 Lydia earthquake |
37.85 | 27.3 | ? | Destroyed 13 cities in Asia (minor) | Described by the historians Tacitus and Pliny the Elder | |
February 5, 62 AD | Bay of Naples, Italy see AD 62 Pompeii earthquake |
? | 5–6 | Brought down a large part of Pompeii, caused severe damage in Herculaneum and Nuceria. | Seneca describes it in his "Quaestiones Naturales VI" | |||
89 AD | Baekje, Seoul, Korea | Lots of people | 6.7 | Houses were broken and lots of people died. | ||||
110 AD | Dian Kingdom, Yunnan, southwestern China | probably thousands | – | Flooded administrative centre of the Dian Kingdom | ||||
December 13, 115 AD | Antioch see 115 Antioch earthquake |
36.1 | 36.1 | 260,000 (approx) | 7.5 | Ms | ||
141 or 142 AD | Lycia, Caria, Dodecanese see 141 Lycia earthquake |
36.7 | 28.0 | ? | 8 | Triggered a severe tsunami that caused inundation at Rhodes | ||
May 18, 363 AD | Syria see 363 Galilee earthquake |
"thousands" | 7 (approx) | Destruction also in "The Holy Land", Petra | Ammianus Marcellinus and numerous other late Antiquity writers. | |||
July 21, 365 AD | Crete (Greece) see 365 Crete earthquake |
"thousands" | 8.5+ | Destruction also in Cyrene & Alexandria (by tsunami). Uplifted Crete by 9 metres. | Ammianus Marcellinus and numerous other late Antiquity writers | |||
382 AD | Cape St. Vincent, Portugal | 7.5 | According to Roman historian Ammianus Marcellinus, the earthquake and corresponding tsunami sank two islets that were situated near Cape St. Vincent. | Ammianus Marcellinus | ||||
May 19, 526 AD | Antioch, Turkey see 526 Antioch earthquake |
250,000 | 7.0 | The city of Antioch was greatly damaged, and some decades later the city's population was just 300,000. | Procopius, II.14.6; sources based on John of Ephesus | |||
July 6, 551 AD | Beirut, Tyre, Tripoli see 551 Beirut earthquake |
33.9 | 35.5 | 30,000 | 7.5 | Mw Triggered a devastating tsunami, all the cities of the Phoenician coast from Tyre to Tripoli were reduced to ruins | ||
November 26, 684 AD | Shikoku, Japan see 684 Hakuhō earthquake |
32.8 | 134.3 | 101–1,000 | 8.4 MK (Kawasumi scale) | Various references estimate the quake's magnitude at 8.0 to 8.4, with damage being "severe". Other dates for the quake are: October 14 (incorrect date) and November 24. | Described in the history book Nihon Shoki | |
January 18, 749 AD | The Levant see 749 Galilee earthquake |
"tens of thousands" | 7.0–7.5 (approx) | The cities of Tiberias, Beit She'an, Hippos and Pella were largely destroyed while many other cities across the Levant region were heavily damaged. | ||||
April 29, 801 AD | Central Italy see 801 Apennine earthquake |
41.896 | 12.482 | 5.4 Me | There was severe damage in Rome. The quake was also felt in Spoleto. | |||
November 24, 847 AD | Damascus, Syria see 847 Damascus earthquake |
33.5 | 36.3 | 70,000 | 7.3 | |||
December 856 AD | Corinth, Greece | 37.9 | 22.9 | 45,000 | – | |||
December 22, 856 AD (aftershocks for about a year) | Qumis, Iran. From Khuvar to Bustam and Gurgan. The town of Qumis (Hecatompylos) hardest hit. see 856 Damghan earthquake |
36.23 | 54.14 | 200,000. | 7.9 (approx) | The city of Qumis was half destroyed and had 45,096 casualties. | ||
July 13, 869 AD | Sendai, Japan see 869 Jōgan earthquake |
38.5 | 143.8 | 1,000 (approx) | 8.6–9.0 | Ms | ||
March 23, 893 AD | Ardabil, Iran see 893 Ardabil earthquake |
38.28 | 48.30 | 150,000 | – | – | Regarded as a 'fake earthquake', due to misunderstanding of original Armenian sources for the 893 Dvin event. | |
December 28, 893 AD | Dvin, Armenia see 893 Dvin earthquake |
40.0 | 44.6 | 30,000 | 6 (approx) | Mislocated in India |
11th–17th centuries
Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Fatalities | Mag. | Comments | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
December 1033 | Jordan Valley, Levant, Israel & the State of Palestine see 1033 Jordan Rift Valley earthquake |
32.5 | 35.5 | 70,000 | 7.3 | Mw . Triggered a tsunami. | ||
December 1037 | Taizhou, Jiangsu, China | 32.0 | 119.0 | 22,391 | ||||
August 12, 1042 | Palmyra, Baalbek, Syria, Lebanon | 35.1 | 38.9 | 50,000 | 7.2 (>VIII) | |||
March 18, 1068 | Near East see 1068 Near East earthquake |
20,000 | ≥7.0 | |||||
October 11, 1138 | Aleppo, Syria see 1138 Aleppo earthquake |
36.1 | 36.8 | 230,000 | 7.1 | |||
September 30, 1139 | Ganja, Azerbaijan see 1139 Ganja earthquake |
40.3 | 46.2 | 230,000–300,000 | 7.7 | Ms . Resulted in the total destruction of Ganja. | ||
August 12, 1157 | 08:15 | Hama, Syria see 1157 Hama earthquake |
35.1 | 36.3 | "Tens of thousands" | 7.2 | Ms Largest in a sequence lasting from late 1156 to early 1159 | |
February 4, 1169 | Sicily see 1169 Sicily earthquake |
37.3 | 15.0 | 15,000 | 6.4–7.3 | |||
June 29, 1170 | 06:29 | Eastern Mediterranean see 1170 Syria earthquake |
34.4 | 36.4 | 5,000–80,000 in Aleppo 25,000 in Hama |
7.3–7.5 7.7 |
Syria, Lebanon, central southern Turkey | Numerous sources from Crusader times. |
July 5, 1201 and/or May 20, 1202 | Eastern Mediterranean; see 1202 Syria earthquake | 1,100,000 (includes famine/disease deaths) | 7.6 | Damage across a wide area from Syria to Upper Egypt | – | |||
May 11, 1222 | 06:15 | Cyprus see 1222 Cyprus earthquake |
34.7 | 32.6 | 7.0–7.5 | Caused damage at Paphos, Limassol and Nicosia | ||
1268 | Cilicia, Anatolia (Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia) see 1268 Cilicia earthquake |
37.5 | 35.5 | 60,000 | 7 (approx) | |||
September 27, 1290 | Zhili (Hebei), China see 1290 Zhili earthquake |
41.5 | 119.3 | 100,000 | 6.8 | Ms | ||
May 26, 1293 | Kamakura, (now in Kanagawa Prefecture, Kantō region,) Japan see 1293 Kamakura earthquake |
35.2 | 139.4 | 23,024 | 7.1 | |||
August 8, 1303 | 06:00 | 1303 Crete earthquake, Greece | 35 | 27 | up to 10,000 | ~8 | Triggered a major tsunami that devastated Alexandria in Egypt | |
September 25, 1303 | 1303 Hongdong earthquake, China | 36.3 | 111.7 | 270,000 | Mw 7.2–7.6 | Taiyuan and Pingyang (modern Linfen) were leveled. | ||
January 1, 1341 | Crimea, Ukraine | Not known | 6 | |||||
January 25, 1348 | 15:00 | Friuli, Venice, Rome see 1348 Friuli earthquake |
46.37 | 13.58 | 10,000 | 6.9 | ||
August 24, 1356 | Lisbon, Portugal see 1356 Lisbon earthquake |
8.5 | Mw | |||||
October 18, 1356 | Basel, Switzerland see 1356 Basel earthquake |
47.5 | 07.6 | 1,000 | 6.2 | Mw | ||
May 21, 1382 | Canterbury, UK see 1382 Dover Straits earthquake |
? | 5.8 | Struck during synod – later called "Earthquake Synod" – called to condemn heresy of John Wycliffe – some saw as portentous | ||||
February 2, 1428 | Catalonia (now Spain) 1428 Catalonia earthquake |
42.4 | 2.2 | 1,000s | 6.7 | Sometimes called the terratrèmol de la candelera because it took place during the Candlemas. | ||
December 5, 1456 | Province of Benevento, Kingdom of Naples (now Italy) 1456 Central Italy earthquakes |
41.3 | 14.7 | 30,000–70,000 | 7.2 | The largest and most widespread earthquake on the Italian Peninsula. Was followed by another Mw 7.0 shock on December 30. | ||
May 3, 1481 | 03:00 | Rhodes see 1481 Rhodes earthquake |
36.0 | 28.0 | 30,000 | 7.1 | Largest of a series that lasted 10 months | |
September 20, 1498 | 08:00 local time | Honshu see 1498 Meiō earthquake |
34.0 | 138.1 | 31,000 | 8.6 | Ms | |
June 6, 1505 | Nepal see 1505 Lo Mustang earthquake |
29.5 | 83.0 | 30% of Nepalese population | 8.2–8.8 | |||
September 10, 1509 | 22:00 | Istanbul, Turkey see 1509 Istanbul earthquake |
40.9 | 28.7 | 10,000 | 7.2 | Ms | |
January 26, 1531 | 04:30 | Lisbon, Portugal see 1531 Lisbon earthquake |
38.9 | −09.0 | 30,000 | 6.9 | ||
January 23, 1556 | Shaanxi, China see 1556 Shaanxi earthquake |
34.5 | 109.7 | 830,000+ | 8.2–8.3 | Deadliest earthquake in recorded history | USGS | |
November 16–17, 1570 | 19:10 | Ferrara, Italy see 1570 Ferrara earthquake |
44.817 | 11.633 | 70–200 | 5.5 | Azariah de Rossi's Kol Elohim | |
December 16, 1575 | 18:30 | Valdivia, Chile see 1575 Valdivia earthquake |
−39.8 | −73.2 | ? | 8.5 | ||
June 10–11, 1585 | Unk | Aleutian Islands, Alaska see 1585 Aleutian Islands earthquake |
Unk | Unk | Unk | 9.25 | Mw On June 11, 1585, a moderate tsunami struck the Sanriku coast of Japan. At the same time, a number of Hawaiian natives died after their settlements was struck by a tsunami-like event described in oral traditions. Paleotsunami evidence was also found in the Hawaiian Islands corresponding to a large tsunami in the 16th century. Modelling of a magnitude 9.25 earthquake in the Aleutian Islands matched the descriptions and geological evidences in Japan and Hawaii. |
|
January 18, 1586 | 23:00 | Chūbu region, Japan see 1586 Tenshō earthquake |
36.0 | 136.9 | 8,000 | 7.9 | MJMA | |
November 24, 1604 | 12:30 local time | Arica, Chile see 1604 Arica earthquake |
-18.500 | -70.400 | ? | 8.5 | MI | |
February 3, 1605 | 20:00 local time | Shikoku, Honshu, Japan see 1605 Keichō earthquake |
33.5 | 138.5 | thousands | 7.9 | Ms | |
July 13, 1605 | Qiongshan, Hainan, China see 1605 Guangdong earthquake |
19.9 | 110.5 | 3,000 | 7.5 (X) | |||
October 25, 1622 | Ningxia, China see 1622 North Guyuan earthquake |
36.5 | 106.3 | 12,000 | 7.0 | Ms | ||
August 1, 1629 | Banda Sea, Indonesia see 1629 Banda Sea earthquake |
-4.6 | 129.9 | 0 | 8.2-8.8 | Mw | ||
March 27, 1638 | Calabria, Kingdom of Sicily (present-day Italy) see 1638 Calabrian earthquakes |
38.64 | 15.78 | 9,581–30,000 | 7.1 | A sequence of four earthquakes. | ||
March 27, 1638 | night | Tabriz, Iran see 1641 Tabriz earthquake |
37.9 | 46.1 | 12,613–30,000 | 6.8 | Ms | |
February 5, 1663 | 17:30 local time | Quebec, Canada see 1663 Charlevoix earthquake |
47.6 | 70.1 | 0 | 7.3–7.9 | Landslides were the primary feature. | |
April 6, 1667 | Dubrovnik, Croatia see 1667 Dubrovnik earthquake |
42.3 | 18.1 | 3,000 | 7.2 | |||
November 25, 1667 | Shamakhi, Azerbaijan see 1667 Shamakhi earthquake |
40.6 | 48.6 | 80,000 | 6.9 | Ms | ||
July 25, 1668 | Shandong, China see 1668 Shandong earthquake |
35.3 | 118.6 | 42,578 | 8.5 | Largest earthquake in East China. | ||
August 17, 1668 | Anatolia, Turkey see 1668 North Anatolia earthquake |
40 | 36 | 8,000 | 8 | Largest earthquake in Turkey. | USGS | |
February 17, 1674 | 19:30 | Ambon, Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) see 1674 Ambon earthquake and megatsunami |
3.75 | 127.75 | 2,347 | 6.8 | Major tsunami up to 100 meters high. First and largest ever documented tsunami in Indonesia. | |
October 20, 1687 | 11:30 | Lima, Peru see 1687 Peru earthquake |
−15.2 | −75.9 | 5,000 | 8.2 | ||
June 5, 1688 | Province of Benevento, Italy see 1688 Sannio earthquake |
41.3 | 14.6 | est. 10,000 | 7 | Completely destroyed Cerreto Sannita and Guardia Sanframondi, heavily damaged Benevento. | ||
September 13, 1692 | 11:00 | Salta Province, Argentina see 1692 Salta earthquake |
−25.40 | −64.80 | ~13 | 7.0 | The small village of Talavera del Esteco was completely destroyed. | |
June 7, 1692 | 11:43 local time | Port Royal, Jamaica see 1692 Jamaica earthquake |
17.9 | −76.8 | 2,000+ | 7 (approx) (X) | ||
January 11, 1693 | Catania Province, Sicily see 1693 Sicily earthquake |
60,000 | 7.5 | |||||
September 5, 1694 | 11:40 | Irpinia, Italy see 1694 Irpinia–Basilicata earthquake |
40.88 | 15.35 | 6,000 | 6.9 | Mw | |
May 18, 1695 | 12:00 | Shanxi, Qing dynasty see 1695 Linfen earthquake |
36.0 | 111.5 | 52,600–176,365 | 7.8 | Mw | |
January 5, 1699 | Batavia, Dutch East Indies (now Jakarta, Indonesia) see 1699 Java earthquake |
6.078 | 105.913 | 128 | 7.4–8.0 | Mw |
18th century
Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Fatalities | Mag. | Comments | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
January 26, 1700 | ~21:00 | Cascadia subduction zone see 1700 Cascadia earthquake Source of "Orphan Tsunami," which struck Japan hours later. The Japanese were caught off-guard, not knowing the origin of the wave, until geologist Brian Atwater's research confirmed it. |
9.0 | M (Satake et al., 1996) | USGS | |||
January 14, 1703 | 18:00 | Norcia, Italy see 1703 Apennine earthquakes |
42.7 | 13.07 | 6,240–9,761 | 6.7 | Mw | |
February 2, 1703 | 11:05 | L'Aquila, Italy see 1703 Apennine earthquakes |
42.43 | 13.3 | 2,500–5,000 | 6.7 | Mw | |
December 31, 1703 | 17:00 | Kantō region, Japan see 1703 Genroku earthquake |
35.0 | 140.0 | 10,000 | 8.2 | Ms | |
November 3, 1706 | 13:00 | Abruzzo, Italy see 1706 Abruzzo earthquake |
42.1 | 14.1 | 2,400 | 6.8 | Mw | |
October 28, 1707 | 14:00 local time | Japan see 1707 Hōei earthquake |
33.0 | 136.0 | 5,000+ | 8.6 | ||
October 14, 1709 | Zhongwei, China see 1709 Zhongwei earthquake |
37.4 | 105.3 | 2,000+ | 7.5 | Mw | ||
February 3, 1716 | Algiers, Algeria see 1716 Algiers earthquake |
36.8 | 3.0 | 20,000 | IX–X European macroseismic scale | |||
June 19, 1718 | Gansu, China see 1718 Tongwei–Gansu earthquake |
35.0 | 105.2 | 73,000 | 7.5 | Ms | ||
April 26, 1721 | Tabriz, Iran see 1721 Tabriz earthquake |
37.9 | 46.7 | ~80,000 | 7.7 | |||
July 8, 1730 | 08:45 | Valparaiso, Chile see 1730 Valparaiso earthquake |
−32.5 | −71.5 | ? | 8.7 | ||
September 30, 1730 | 10:00 local time | Beijing, China | 40.0 | 116.2 | 100s | 6.5 | ||
November 29, 1732 | 8:40 local time | Irpinia, Italy see 1732 Irpinia earthquake |
41.0727 | 15.0623 | 6.6 | Ms | ||
October 16, 1737 | 15:30 local time | Kamchatka, Russia see 1737 Kamchatka earthquake |
51.1 | 158.0 | 8.3 | Ms | ||
January 4, 1739 | 18:00 UTC | Ningxia, China see 1739 Yinchuan–Pingluo earthquake |
38.9 | 106.5 | >50,000 | 8.0 | ||
October 28, 1746 | 22:30 local time | Lima & Callao, Peru see 1746 Lima–Callao earthquake |
−11.35 | −77.28 | 4,000–5,000 | 8.6–8.8 | Mw | |
May 25, 1751 | 1:00 local time | Concepción, Chile see 1751 Concepción earthquake |
−36.830 | −73.030 | 8.5 | MI | USGS | |
June 7, 1755 | Northern Persia | 34.0 | 51.5 | 1,200 40,000 |
5.9 | |||
November 1, 1755 | 10:16 | Lisbon, Portugal see 1755 Lisbon earthquake |
36 | −11 | 80,000 | 8.5 | Caused a huge tsunami | USGS |
November 18, 1755 | 09:11 | Boston, Massachusetts, United States see 1755 Cape Ann earthquake |
42.7 | −70.2 | 0 | 5.9 | Mw | |
November 25, 1759 | 19:23 local time | Eastern Mediterranean see Near East earthquakes of 1759 |
33.7 | 35.9 | 1,000s | 7.4 | Ms Earthquake in same area on October 30 considered to be a foreshock. | |
March 31, 1761 | 13:01 local time | Lisbon, Portugal see 1761 Lisbon earthquake |
34.5 | 13.0 | Unknown | 8.5 | Ms Second major earthquake in Europe in six years. | |
April 2, 1762 | Northeastern Bay of Bengal see 1762 Arakan earthquake |
22.0 | 92.0 | 200 | up to 8.8 | Mw | ||
June 28, 1763 | 05:28 | Komárom, Kingdom of Hungary see 1763 Komárom earthquake |
47.73 | 18.15 | 83 | 6.2–6.5 | Mw | |
May 22, 1766 | 05:10 | Istanbul, Turkey see 1766 Istanbul earthquake |
40.8 | 29.0 | 4,000 | 7.1 | Ms | |
October 21, 1766 | 04:30 local time | Saint Joseph, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela see 1766 Southeastern Caribbean earthquake |
11.0 | −62.5 | 6.5–7.5 | Ms Destroyed Spanish colonial capital of San Jose, Trinidad (now St. Joseph). | ||
June 3, 1770 | 19:15 local time | Port-au-Prince, Haiti see 1770 Port-au-Prince earthquake |
18.7 | −72.63 | 200+ | 7.5 | Mw | |
July 29, 1773 | Guatemala see 1773 Guatemala earthquake |
14.6 | -90.7 | 5–600 | 7.5 | |||
January 8, 1780 | Tabriz, Iran see 1780 Tabriz earthquake |
38.0 | 46.2 | 40,000–200,000 | 7.4 | Ms | ||
February 4–5, 1783; March 28, 1783 | 12:00 | Calabria, Italy see 1783 Calabrian earthquakes |
38.15 | 15.70 | 35,000 | 6.9 | Mw First in a sequence of five earthquakes Mw ≥ 5.9 to hit Calabria in less than two months. | |
June 1, 1786 | 04:00 local time | Sichuan, China see 1786 Kangding-Luding earthquake |
29.9 | 102.0 | ~100,000 | 7.75 | Mw Triggered a landslide that blocked the Dadu river – the collapse of the dam during an aftershock and subsequent flood caused most of the casualties. | |
March 28, 1787 | 11:30 local time | Oaxaca, Mexico see 1787 New Spain earthquake |
16.5 | -98.5 | 11+ | 8.6 | Mw | |
February 4, 1797 | 12:30 | Quito, Ecuador & Cuzco, Peru see 1797 Riobamba earthquake |
41,000 | 7.3 | Mw | |||
February 10, 1797 | Sumatra, East Indies (now Indonesia) see 1797 Sumatra earthquake |
−1.0 | 99.0 | 300 | 8.4 |
19th century
Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Fatalities | Mag. | Comments | Sources |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
October 26, 1802 | 10:55 | Vrancea region, Moldavia, now Romania see 1802 Vrancea earthquake |
45.7 | 26.6 | 3 in Bucharest | 7.9 | Serious damage in the area. All church steeples in Bucharest collapsed, as well as many houses and Colţea bell tower. | |
February 16, 1810 | 22:15 | Crete, Heraklion see 1810 Crete earthquake |
35.5 | 25.6 | 2,000 | 7.5 | Mw | |
December 16, 1811 | 08:00 | New Madrid, Missouri, United States see 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes |
36.6 | −89.6 | 8.1 | MI | USGS | |
January 23, 1812 | 15:00 | New Madrid, Missouri, United States see 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes |
36.6 | −89.6 | 7.8 | MI | USGS | |
February 7, 1812 | 09:45 | New Madrid, Missouri, United States see 1811–12 New Madrid earthquakes |
36.6 | −89.6 | 8 | MI (Johnston, 1996) | USGS | |
March 26, 1812 | 16:37 | Caracas, La Guaira, El Tocuyo, San Felipe, Barquisimeto, Mérida, La Victoria, Valencia, Venezuela see 1812 Caracas earthquake | 15,000–20,000 | 7.7–8.0 | ||||
December 8, 1812 | 7:00 a.m. local time | Alta California see 1812 San Juan Capistrano earthquake | 40 | 6.9–7.5 | Destroyed the "Great Stone Church" at Mission San Juan Capistrano | |||
December 21, 1812 | 11:00 a.m. local time | Santa Barbara Channel, California, United States | 34.12 | −119.54 | 1-2 | 7.1–7.5 | Destroyed the church at Mission Santa Barbara, caused near-total destruction at Mission La Purísima Concepción, and considerable damage at Mission Santa Inés | Southern California Earthquake Data Center |
June 16, 1819 | 18:45–18:50 local time | Gujarat, India see 1819 Rann of Kutch earthquake |
23.0 | 71.0 | >1,543 | 7.7–8.2 | Mw Formed an 80 km long ridge, the Allah Bund ('Dam of God') | |
June 2, 1823 | 08:00 | south flank of Kīlauea, Hawaii, Kingdom of Hawaii | 19.3 | −155 | 7 | MI (Klein and Wright, 2000) | USGS | |
August 26, 1833 | Himalayas, Nepal–India–Tibet region see 1833 Bihar–Nepal earthquake |
28.3 | 85.5 | ~500 | 7.7–7.9 | Mw | ||
November 25, 1833 | Sumatra, East Indies (now Indonesia) see 1833 Sumatra earthquake |
−2.5 | 100.5 | "numerous victims" | 8.8–9.2 | Mw Huge tsunami flooded all southern part of western Sumatra | ||
June 10, 1836 | 15:30 | south San Francisco Bay region, California, Mexico (now United States) | 36.9 | −121.5 | 6.5 | MI (Bakun, 1999) Reports probably refer to the 1838 San Andreas earthquake, misreported in 1868 following the Hayward earthquake of that year | USGS, | |
January 1, 1837 | 16:00 local time | Galilee, Palestine see Galilee earthquake of 1837 |
33.0 | 35.5 | 6,000–7,000 | >7.0 | Ms | |
June 1838 | San Francisco Peninsula, California, Mexico (now United States) see 1838 San Andreas earthquake |
37.3 | −123.2 | 6.8 | MI (Bakun, 1999) | USGS | ||
January 11, 1839 | 06:00 local time | Offshore Martinique, France see 1839 Martinique earthquake |
14.5 | –60.5 | 700–4,000
|
7.8–8.0
|
Severe damage in Martinique, and felt throughout most of the Lesser Antilles | |
March 23, 1839 | 04:00 | Inwa, Kingdom of Burma (present day Myanmar) | 21.9 | 96.0 | 300–500
|
8.1–8.2
|
Destroyed the city of Amarapura, Mandalay and the former capital Inwa. | |
January 5, 1843 | 02:45 | Marked Tree, Arkansas, United States | 35.5 | −90.5 | 6.3 | MI (Johnston, 1996) | USGS | |
February 8, 1843 | 10:37 local time | Guadeloupe, France | 16.5 | 62.2 | 1,500–5,000
|
8.5
|
||
May 8, 1847 | Around Zenkō-ji Temple, (now in Nagano Prefecture, Chūbu region,) Japan see 1847 Nagano earthquake |
36.7 | 138.2 | >8,600 | 7.4 | 2,094 houses lost by fire with quake at Nagano. | ||
November 26, 1852 | Banda Sea, Dutch East Indies see 1852 Banda Sea earthquake |
5.24 | 129.75 | 60+ | 7.5–8.8 | Mw Major tsunami. | ||
December 23, 1854 | 09:00 | Honshu, Japan see 1854 Tōkai earthquake |
34.0 | 137.8 | 2,000 | 8.4 | Major tsunami. | |
December 24, 1854 | 16:00 | Honshu, Japan see 1854 Nankai earthquake |
33.0 | 135.0 | thousands | 8.4 | Major tsunami | |
January 23, 1855 | 21:11 local time | Wairarapa, New Zealand see 1855 Wairarapa earthquake |
−41.4 | 174.5 | 4 | 8.0 (approx) | Raised sections of Wellington coastline by 2 metres. | – |
November 11, 1855 | 22:00 local time | Edo (now Tokyo, Kantō region), Japan see 1855 Edo earthquake |
35.65 | 139.8 | ~ 7,000 | 7.0 | Ms 10,000 house destroyed in Edo. | 安政の大地震 in Japanese |
October 12, 1856 | 02:38 or 02:24 local time | Crete-Rhodes, Greece (then the Ottoman Empire) | 35.5 | 26.0 | 600+ | 7.7–8.3 Mw | Widespread damage to Greece, Malta, Anatolia and the Middle East. | |
January 9, 1857 | 16:24 | Fort Tejon, California, United States (San Andreas fault from Parkfield to Wrightwood) see 1857 Fort Tejon earthquake |
1 | 7.9 | M (Grant and Sieh, 1993; Stein and Hanks, 1998) | USGS | ||
December 16, 1857 | 21:00 | Naples, Italy see 1857 Basilicata earthquake |
40.3 | 16 | 11,000 | 6.9 | MI | USGS |
February 16, 1861 | Sumatra, East Indies (now Indonesia) see 1861 Sumatra earthquake |
1.0 | 97,5 | 905 | 8.5 | Caused a major tsunami. | ||
March 20, 1861 | 20:36 | Mendoza Province, Argentina see 1861 Mendoza earthquake |
-32.9 | -68.9 | 5235 | 7.2 | Strongest earthquake in Mendoza Province and proportional most deadly in Argentinean history. | INPRES |
October 8, 1865 | 20:46 | San Jose, California, United States | 37.2 | −121.9 | 6.5 | MI (Bakun, 1999) | USGS | |
April 14, 1867 | 14:30 | Manhattan, Riley County, Kansas see 1867 Manhattan, Kansas earthquake |
39.2 | –96.3 | 5.1 | Mfa | ||
June 10, 1867 | 21:09 | Central Java, Dutch East Indies see 1867 Java earthquake |
-8.7 | 110.6 | 700 | 7.8 | Mw | |
November 18, 1867 | 18:45 | Anegada Passage, between the British Virgin Islands and Danish West Indies (present-day US Virgin Islands) see 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake and tsunami |
18.2 | –65.0 | ~30 | 7.3–7.5 | NGDC | |
December 18, 1867 | 09:00 | New Taipei City, Taiwan see 1867 Keelung earthquake |
25.34 | 121.91 | 580 | 7.0 | Mw . Thought to be the only destructive tsunami (15 meters) in Taiwan. | |
April 3, 1868 | 02:25 | Kau, southeast Hawaii, Hawaii, Kingdom of Hawaii see 1868 Hawaii earthquake |
19.2 | −155.5 | 77 | 7.9 | MI (Klein and Wright, 2000) | USGS |
August 13, 1868 | 16:45 local time | Arica, Chile see 1868 Arica earthquake |
−18.500 | −70.350 | 25,000 | 8.5-9.3 | Mw, Okal et al (2006) gives upper end magnitude | USGS |
October 21, 1868 | 15:53 | Hayward, California, United States, Hayward Fault Zone see 1868 Hayward earthquake |
37.7 | −122.1 | 30 | 6.8 | MI (Bakun, 1999) | USGS |
February 20, 1871 | 08:42 | Molokai, Hawaii, Kingdom of Hawaii see 1871 Lāna`i earthquake |
21.2 | −156.9 | 6.8 | MI (Klein and Wright, 2000) | USGS | |
March 26, 1872 | 10:30 | Owens Valley, California, United States see 1872 Lone Pine earthquake |
36.5 | −118 | 27 | 7.6 | M (Beanland and Clark, 1994) | USGS |
December 15, 1872 | 05:40 | North Cascades, Washington, United States see 1872 North Cascades earthquake |
47.9 | −120.3 | 7.3 | MI (Malone and Bor, 1979; Rogers et al., 1983) | USGS | |
May 10, 1877 | 21:16 local time | Iquique, Chile see 1877 Iquique earthquake |
−19.600 | −70.230 | 2,541 | 8.8 | Mw | USGS |
November 9, 1880 | 7:04 local time | Zagreb, Croatia see 1880 Zagreb earthquake |
45.9 | 16.1 | 1 | 6.2 | Ms | |
April 3, 1881 | 11:30 | Chios, Çeşme, Alaçatı see 1881 Chios earthquake |
38.25 | 26.25 | 7,866 | 6.5 | Mw | |
December 31, 1881 | 01:49 | India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands see 1881 Nicobar Islands earthquake |
8.52 | 92.43 | 0 | 7.9 | Mw | |
September 7, 1882 | 3:50 local time | San Blas Islands, Panama see 1882 Panama earthquake |
10.0 | 79.0 | 250 | 8.3 | Ms Largest earthquake in Panamanian history | |
December 25, 1884 | 09:18 | Andalusia, Spain see 1884 Andalusian earthquake |
-36.96 | 4.07 | 1,200 | 6.5 | Mw | |
August 27, 1886 | 21:32 | Filiatra, western Peloponnese, Greece see 1886 Peloponnese earthquake |
37.1 | 21.5 | 600 | 7.5 | unknown | |
August 31, 1886 | 02:51 | Charleston, South Carolina, United States see 1886 Charleston earthquake |
32.9 | −80 | 60 | 7.3 | MI (Johnston, 1996) Believed to be the largest earthquake ever to strike the east coast. | USGS |
February 23, 1887 | 06:30 local time | Liguria, Italy | 43.78 | 8.07 | 600–3,000 | 6.3–7.5 | Mw The earthquake caused severe damage along the Ligurian coast and caused the town of Bussana Vecchia to be abandoned. | |
September 1, 1888 | 04:10 local time | North Canterbury, New Zealand see 1888 North Canterbury earthquake |
−42.6 | 172.4 | 7.0–7.3 | First earthquake observed to be associated with mainly horizontal fault displacement. | – | |
July 28, 1889 | 23:40 | Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan see 1889 Kumamoto earthquake |
32.8 | 130.7 | 20 | 6.3 | ||
October 27, 1891 | 21:38 | Mino-Owari (Gifu-Aichi Prefectures), Tōkai region, Japan see 1891 Mino–Owari earthquake |
35.6 | 136.6 | 7,273 | 8 | MS | USGS |
April 19, 1892 | 10:50 | Vacaville, California, United States see 1892 Vacaville–Winters earthquakes |
38.5 | −121.8 | 1 | 6.4 | MI (Bakun, 1999) | USGS |
April 21, 1892 | 17:43 | Winters, California, United States see 1892 Vacaville–Winters earthquakes |
38.6 | −122 | 6.4 | MI (Bakun, 1999) | USGS | |
November 17, 1893 | 15:06 | Quchan, Iran see 1893 Quchan earthquake |
37.2 | 58.4 | 18,000 | 6.6 | Ms | |
October 31, 1895 | 11:08 | Charleston, Missouri, United States see 1895 Charleston earthquake |
37 | −89.4 | 6.6 | MI (Johnston, 1996) | USGS | |
June 15, 1896 | 19:32 | Off the Pacific coast of Sanriku, Iwate Prefecture, Tōhoku region, Japan see 1896 Sanriku earthquake |
39.5 | 144 | 22,000+ | 8.0–8.1 (approx) | Mw | USGS |
June 12, 1897 | 11:06 | Assam, India see 1897 Assam earthquake |
26 | 91 | 1,500 | 8.3 | USGS | |
September 21, 1897 | 05:12 | Mindanao, Philippines see 1897 Mindanao earthquakes |
6.0 | 122.0 | 13 | 7.5 | MS | |
September 4, 1899 | 00:22 | Cape Yakataga, Alaska, United States see 1899 Yakutat Bay earthquakes |
60 | -142 | 7.9 | MS | USGS | |
September 10, 1899 | 21:41 | Yakutat Bay, Alaska, United States see 1899 Yakutat Bay earthquakes |
60 | −142 | 8 | MS | USGS | |
September 20, 1899 | 04:00 | Ottoman Empire see 1899 Aydın–Denizli earthquake |
37.9 | 28.1 | 1,117 | 7.1 | Mw | NGDC |
October 9, 1900 | 12:28 | Kodiak Island, Alaska, United States | 57.1 | −153.5 | 7.7 | MS | USGS | |
October 28, 1900 | 09:11 | offshore Miranda, Venezuela see 1900 San Narciso earthquake |
11.0 | −66.0 | 140 | 7.7 | Ms | USGS |
Source for all events with 'USGS' labelled as the source United States Geological Survey (USGS) [1] Note: Magnitudes are generally estimations from intensity data. When no magnitude was available, the maximum intensity, written as a Roman numeral from I to XII, is given.