The 2000 Baku earthquake occurred on November 25 at 22:09 local time with an epicenter just offshore Baku, Azerbaijan. It measured 6.8 on the moment magnitude scale and the maximum felt intensity was VI on the Mercalli intensity scale. It was followed three minutes later by a quake measuring 5.9. It was the strongest for almost 160 years, since 1842 in the Baku suburbs and in addition to the capital, affected Sumgayit, Shamakhi and neighboring cities. According to the United States Geological Survey, the epicentre was in the Caspian Sea, 25 km to the south-southeast of Baku. The earthquake was felt as far away as e.g. Tbilisi, 600 km northwest of the epicentre, Makhachkala and the Karabudakh and Isberbas settlements in Dagestan.
The 1861 Mendoza earthquake occurred in the province of Mendoza, Argentina on 20 March at 11:30 PM. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.2 on the scale and an intensity of IX–X on the Mercalli scale. Its hypocenter was located at an estimated depth of 30 kilometres (19 mi).
The 1991 Racha earthquake occurred in the province of Racha, Georgia, at 9:12 UTC on 29 April. Centered on the districts of Oni and Ambrolauri on the southern foothills of the Greater Caucasus mountains, it killed 270, left approximately 100,000 homeless and caused severe damage, including to several medieval monuments. It had a magnitude of 7.0 and was the most powerful earthquake recorded in the Caucasus.
The 856 Damghan earthquake or the 856 Qumis earthquake occurred on 22 December 856. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9, and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The meizoseismal area extended for about 350 kilometres (220 mi) along the southern edge of the eastern Alborz mountains of present-day Iran including parts of Tabaristan and Gorgan. The earthquake's epicenter is estimated to be close to the city of Damghan, which was then the capital of the Persian province of Qumis. It caused approximately 200,000 deaths and is listed by the USGS as the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history. This death toll has been debated.
The 1999 Aïn Témouchent earthquake occurred on December 22 at in northern Algeria. The dip-slip event had a moment magnitude of 5.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII. At least 22 were killed, 175 were injured, and 15,000–25,000 were made homeless. The Belgian Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters' EM-DAT database and the USGS' National Geophysical Data Center both list financial losses of $60.93 million.
The 2002 Tbilisi earthquake occurred on April 25 in the Caucasus country of Georgia. The United States' National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) placed the magnitude at 4.3 Ms and 4.8 mb . This moderate magnitude event resulted in a maximum MSK intensity of VII to VIII (Damaging). An independent investigation estimated the total losses at $160 million (US) while the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters estimated the total losses at 350 million. Between five and seven were killed, 52–70 were injured, and more than 1,000 were left homeless.
The Main Himalayan Thrust (MHT) is a décollement under the Himalaya Range. This thrust fault follows a NW-SE strike, reminiscent of an arc, and gently dips about 10 degrees towards the north, beneath the region. It is the largest active continental megathrust fault in the world.
A major earthquake occurred during the rule of the Qing dynasty in Shandong Province on July 25, 1668. It had an estimated magnitude of 8.5, making it the largest historical earthquake in East China, and one of the largest to occur on land. An estimated 43,000 to 50,000 people were killed, and its effects were widely felt. Its epicenter may have been located between Ju and Tancheng counties, northeast of the prefecture-level city of Linyi in southern Shandong.
The 1839 Martinique earthquake occurred on the morning of January 11 with an estimated magnitude of 7.8 Ms , the largest in the Lesser Antilles since 1690. The maximum intensity of this earthquake was assigned IX on both the Mercalli and MSK intensity scales, which left the cities of Saint-Pierre and Fort Royal almost completely destroyed. Estimation on the number of human losses varies from 390 to 4,000 making this one of the deadliest earthquakes in the Caribbean.
The 2020 Kashgar earthquake, also known as the Jiashi earthquake occurred on 19 January 2020 at 21:27:56 China Standard Time in Xinjiang Province, China. According to the United States Geological Survey, the earthquake had a moment magnitude of 6.0 and a surface wave magnitude of 6.4 according to the China Earthquake Network Center. It struck at a shallow depth of 5.6 km according to the USGS while the CENC has the figure at 16 km. Local emergency management agencies said the earthquake damaged more than 1,000 homes and businesses in the nearby populated towns and villages. One person is known to have died while two other children were injured.
The 1139 Ganja earthquake was one of the worst seismic events in history. It affected the Seljuk Empire and the Kingdom of Georgia, in modern-day Azerbaijan and Georgia. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.7 , 7.5 and 7.0–7.3 . A disputed death toll of 230,000–300,000 resulted from this event, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes ever recorded.
The 1555 Kashmir earthquake occurred at around midnight in the month of Ashvin in the Hindu calendar, or September in the Gregorian calendar, although the exact day of occurrence is not known. The earthquake seriously impacted the Kashmir Valley in present-day Pakistan and northwestern India. A moment magnitude (Mw ) of 7.6 to 8.0 and Modified Mercalli intensity of XII (Extreme) has been estimated for the earthquake. Thought to be one of the most destructive in the Kashmir Valley, the earthquake caused serious widespread damage and ground effects, killing an estimated 600–60,000 individuals.
The 1889 Chilik earthquake occurred on July 11 on the Gregorian calendar, or June 30 on the Julian calendar at 15:14 local time in the Tien Shan mountains. The earthquake measured an estimated Mw 7.9–8.0 on the moment magnitude scale and was assigned a maximum intensity of X (Devastating) on the MSK 64 and Rossi-Forel scales. Over 92 people across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China were killed.
The 1887 Verny earthquake occurred on June 8 at 04:35 local time in the Turkestan region of present-day Kazakhstan. It had an epicenter in the northern foothills of the Trans-Ili Alatau mountain range, or just south of the city of Verny,. This earthquake destroyed the city of Verny, killing at least 330 people. A moment magnitude of 7.3–7.7 and MSK 64 intensity of X (Devastating) has been estimated for the earthquake.
The 1997 Bojnurd earthquake occurred on 4 February at 14:07 IRST in Iran. The epicenter of the 6.5 earthquake was in the Kopet Dag mountains of North Khorasan, near the Iran–Turkmenistan border, about 579 km (360 mi) northeast of Tehran. The earthquake is characterized by shallow strike-slip faulting in a zone of active faults. Seismic activity is present as the Kopet Dag is actively accommodating tectonics through faulting. The earthquake left 88 dead, 1,948 injured, and affected 173 villages, including four which were destroyed. Damage also occurred in Shirvan and Bojnord counties. The total cost of damage was estimated to be over US$ 30 million.
The 1641 Tabriz earthquake occurred on the night of February 5 in present-day East Azerbaijan province, Iran. The earthquake had an estimated surface-wave magnitude of 6.8 and an epicenter between Lake Urmia and the city of Tabriz. It was one of the most destructive earthquakes in the region, resulting in the loss of up to 30,000 lives.
The 1979 Saint Elias earthquake affected Alaska at 12:27 AKST on 28 February. The thrust-faulting 7.5 earthquake had an epicenter in the Granite Mountains. Though the maximum recorded Modified Mercalli intensity was VII, damage was minimal and there were no casualties due to the remoteness of the faulting. Damage also extended across the border in parts of Yukon, Canada.
The 1902 Shamakhi earthquake occurred on 13 February with a moment magnitude of 7.4 and maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Up to 2,000 people died and thousands more were injured in the Shemakha uezd within the Baku Governorate of the Russian Empire. About 7,439 buildings were damaged or destroyed in the city and surrounding villages. Shamakhi had been devastated by earlier earthquakes in 1806, 1859 and 1872. It is one of the most destructive earthquakes in Azerbaijan.
The 1755 Meknes earthquake affected Morocco on 27 November 1755. The earthquake had a moment magnitude (Mw ) estimated at between 6.5 and 7.0. It devastated the cities of Fes and Meknes—killing at least 15,000 people in both cities. The earthquake struck less than a month after another earthquake that devastated Morocco and Lisbon on 1 November. Previously regarded as an aftershock, this earthquake likely represented rupture of a separate fault due to changes in tectonic stress following their first event.
In 1624 the city of Fez in northern Morocco was devastated by a major earthquake between three and four in the morning of 11 May. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.0 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII–IX on the MSK scale. The earthquake caused severe damage in Fez and the surrounding area. It was felt as far away as Seville in southern Spain. Thousands of people died.
