This is a list of earthquakes in Egypt, including earthquakes that either had their epicenter in Egypt, or caused significant damage in Egypt.
This is a list of earthquakes in Egypt, including earthquakes that either had their epicenter in Egypt, or caused significant damage in Egypt.
Seismic hazard in Egypt is highest at the southern end of the Gulf of Suez, the northern Red Sea and around the Gulf of Aqaba, the location of the active plate boundaries. The highest risk is the southern end of the Dead Sea Transform.
| Date | Time‡ | Place | Lat | Long | Fatalities | Mag. | Comments | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 27, 885 | Cairo | 30.0 | 31.1 | 1,000 | X | [1] | ||
| March 18, 1068 | morning | Hejaz see 1068 Near East earthquake | 29.5 | 34.95 | ~20,000 | ≥7.0 | Affected a wide area of Egypt, Sinai, Hejaz. The location given is the macroseismic epicenter, although the earthquake was probably located in the Gulf of Aqaba | |
| September 2, 1754 | Cairo see 1754 Cairo earthquake | 30.8 | 31.0 | 40,000 | The death toll is questioned, but is not unreasonable for a shallow earthquake in an area of high population density | [2] | ||
| August 7, 1847 | Faiyum | 29.5 | 30.5 | 185 | XI | [3] | ||
| October 12, 1856 | 02:38 or 02:45 | Crete, Greece | 35.5 | 26.0 | 10+ | 7.7-8.3 Mw | Despite having an epicenter off the Greek islands, the earthquake was so powerful that in Egypt, intensity VIII was experienced. This caused damage to Alexandria, Cairo and the Nile delta with several deaths. | |
| September 12, 1955 | 06:09 | Offshore Alexandria see 1955 Alexandria earthquake | 32.2 | 29.6 | 18 | 6.3 Ms | 89 injured | |
| March 31, 1969 | 07:15 | Red Sea, Sharm El Sheikh see 1969 Sharm El Sheikh earthquake | 27.58 | 33.9 | 2 | 6.6 Mw | 15 injured | |
| October 12, 1992 | 13:09 | Dahshur, Egypt see 1992 Cairo earthquake | 29.778 | 31.144 | 561 | 5.8 mb | 12,392 injured | [4] |
| November 22, 1995 | 04:15 | Gulf of Aqaba see 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake | 28.826 | 34.799 | 9–12 | 7.3 Mw | 30–69 injured |
Earthquakes are caused by movements within the Earth's crust and uppermost mantle. They range from weak events detectable only by seismometers, to sudden and violent events lasting many minutes which have caused some of the greatest disasters in human history. Below, earthquakes are listed by period, region or country, year, magnitude, cost, fatalities, and number of scientific studies.
The 1703 Genroku earthquake occurred at 02:00 local time on December 31. The epicenter was near Edo, the forerunner of present-day Tokyo, in the southern part of the Kantō region, Japan. An estimated 2,300 people were killed by the shaking and subsequent fires. The earthquake triggered a major tsunami which caused many additional casualties, giving a total death toll of at least 5,233, possibly up to 200,000. Genroku is a Japanese era spanning from 1688 through 1704.
The 1946 Nankai earthquake was a great earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan. It occurred on December 21, 1946, at 04:19 JST. The earthquake measured between 8.1 and 8.4 on the moment magnitude scale, and was felt from Northern Honshū to Kyūshū. It occurred almost two years after the 1944 Tōnankai earthquake, which ruptured the adjacent part of the Nankai megathrust.
This list of 20th-century earthquakes is a list of earthquakes of magnitude 6 and above that occurred in the 20th century. Sone smaller events which nevertheless had a significant impact are also included. After 1900 most earthquakes have some degree of instrumental records and this means that the locations and magnitudes are more reliable than for earlier events.
The 1751 Port-au-Prince earthquake occurred at 12:50 UTC on 21 November in French Haiti, followed by a tsunami. Another earthquake was reported at the same location on 15 September of the same year and it is uncertain whether the two reports refer to the same event.
The 1293 Kamakura earthquake in Japan occurred at about 06:00 local time on 27 May 1293. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.1–7.5 and triggered a tsunami. The estimated death toll was 23,024. It occurred during the Kamakura period, and the city of Kamakura was seriously damaged.
Events in the year 1841 in Portugal.
The 1897 Mindanao earthquakes occurred on September 20, 1897, at 19:06 UTC and September 21, 1897, at 05:12 UTC. The estimated epicentres of the two earthquakes are identical, lying just off the southwestern coast of Mindanao in the Philippines, south of Basilan island. The earthquakes were originally given estimated magnitudes of 8.6 and 8.7 on the surface wave magnitude scale by Charles Richter, but these were revised downwards by Katsuyuki Abe to 7.4 and 7.5 Ms, respectively. Contemporary reports noted that with few exceptions, all the masonry buildings in Zamboanga and Basilan were left in ruins.
The 1918 Celebes Sea earthquake occurred on August 15 at 12:18 UTC near the Moro Gulf coast of Mindanao. It had a magnitude of 8.3 on the moment magnitude scale and a maximum perceived intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It triggered a tsunami of up to 7 m in height and the combined effects of the earthquake and tsunami led to the deaths of 52 people.
The area around Constantinople was affected by a major earthquake in AD 447. It caused serious damage to the recently completed Theodosian Walls in Constantinople, destroying 57 towers and large stretches of the walls. The historical records contain no mention of casualties directly associated with this earthquake, although many thousands of people were reported to have died in the aftermath due to starvation and a "noxious smell".
During April 1819, the area around Copiapó in northern Chile was struck by a sequence of earthquakes over a period of several days. The largest of these earthquakes occurred on 11 April at about 15:00 local time, with an estimated magnitude of Mw 8.5. The other two events, on 3 April between 08:00 and 09:00 local time and on 4 April at 16:00 local time, are interpreted as foreshocks to the mainshock on 11 April. The mainshock triggered a tsunami that affected 800 km of coastline and was also recorded at Hawaii. The city of Copiapó was devastated.
The 1941 Hyūga-nada earthquake occurred off the coast of Kyushu, Japan at 19:02 local time on November 19. The earthquake measured 8.0 Mw and had a depth of 35 km (22 mi). A JMA seismic intensity of 5 was observed in Miyazaki City and Nobeoka City in Miyazaki Prefecture, and Hitoyoshi City in Kumamoto Prefecture. Due to the earthquake, a tsunami with a maximum wave height of 1.2 m was observed in Kyushu and Shikoku. The tsunami washed away many ships. Twenty-seven homes were destroyed and two people were killed. In Miyazaki, Ōita and Kagoshima prefectures, telephone services were disrupted. Subsidence by 8 cm (3.1 in) was recorded at Hyūga, Miyazaki. At Nobeoka, stone walls and embankments were damaged while roads cracked. It was felt as far as central Honshu.
