List of earthquakes in Kazakhstan

This list includes seismic events with epicenters that located within the Kazakhstan territory.

List

Date and time (UTC) Location Epicenter Mag. MMI Depth Notes Casualties Ref
Dead Injured
2 August 1885
14:20:00
Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan 42°42′N 74°06′E / 42.7°N 74.1°E / 42.7; 74.1 6.7–7.6 Mw MMI X (Extreme) 15 km (9.3 mi) Two villages from Kara-Balta and Belovodskoye were damaged, and 54 people were killed. 54 [1]
8 June 1887
04:35:00
Almaty Region, Kazakhstan 43°06′N 76°48′E / 43.1°N 76.8°E / 43.1; 76.8 7.3–7.8 Mw MMI X (Extreme) 20 km (12 mi) At least 330 people were killed in the city of Verny. 330 [1]
11 July 1889
15:14:00
Almaty Region, Kazakhstan 43°12′N 78°42′E / 43.2°N 78.7°E / 43.2; 78.7 7.9–8.0 Mw MMI X (Extreme) 40 km (25 mi) At least 92 people across Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and China were killed. 92+ [2]
4 January 1911
05:25:48
Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan 42°54′N 76°48′E / 42.9°N 76.8°E / 42.9; 76.8 8.0 Mw
8.1 Ms
MMI X (Extreme) 20 km (12 mi) 452 people were killed and 740 others were injured. Nearly 1,100 houses and 4,545 yurts were destroyed by the earthquake and the resulting landslides. 452 740 [3]
3 November 1946
00:28:35
Jalal-Abad Region, Kyrgyzstan 41°45′25″N 71°51′14″E / 41.757°N 71.854°E / 41.757; 71.854 7.5–7.6 Mw MMI X (Extreme) 25 km (16 mi) Severe property damage was reported in its aftermath, but the number of deaths and injuries remains unknown. [4]
5 June 1970
04:53:06
Almaty Region, Kazakhstan 42°30′N 78°48′E / 42.5°N 78.8°E / 42.5; 78.8 6.6 Ms 20 km (12 mi) The earthquake destroyed at least 5,000 buildings and left more than 20,000 people homeless. [5]
10 May 1971
19:51:46
Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan 42°53′13″N 71°16′01″E / 42.887°N 71.267°E / 42.887; 71.267 5.3 Mw 17.8 km (11.1 mi) More than 28,000 buildings and structures, including 16,500 private houses were damaged. [6]
25 March 1978
02:05:48
Issyk-Kul Region, Kyrgyzstan 42°50′20″N 78°36′22″E / 42.839°N 78.606°E / 42.839; 78.606 7.1 Mw MMI VII (Very strong) 33 km (21 mi) [7]
14 June 1990
17:47:28
East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan 47°52′08″N 78°36′22″E / 47.869°N 78.606°E / 47.869; 78.606 6.6 Mw MMI VI (Strong) 57.9 km (36.0 mi) One person was killed in the earthquake. At least 3,000 buildings were destroyed and more than 20,000 people left homeless. 1 [8][9]
3 August 1990
14:15:06
East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan 47°57′47″N 84°57′40″E / 47.963°N 84.961°E / 47.963; 84.961 6.2 Mw MMI VI (Strong) 33.4 km (20.8 mi) Eight people were injured and at least 500 buildings were destroyed. 8 [10][11]
28 September 1990
02:12:32
East Kazakhstan Region, Kazakhstan 47°54′11″N 84°57′40″E / 47.903°N 84.961°E / 47.903; 84.961 5.0 Mw MMI VI (Strong) 33.4 km (20.8 mi) Some buildings were damaged in Zaisan. [12][13]
19 August 1992
08:04:37
Jalal-Abad Region, Kyrgyzstan 42°08′31″N 73°34′30″E / 42.142°N 73.575°E / 42.142; 73.575 7.3 Ms MMI IX (Violent) 27.4 km (17.0 mi) 75 people were killed, including 14 by landslides. 75 [14]
1 December 2003
06:38:31
Almaty Region, Kazakhstan 42°54′18″N 80°30′54″E / 42.905°N 80.515°E / 42.905; 80.515 6.1 Ms
6.0 Mw
MMI VIII (Severe) 15 km (9.3 mi) Eleven people were killed in the earthquake, with 73 others injured, 26 of them seriously. 11 73 [15][16]
13 June 2009
17:17:38
Jetisu Region, Kazakhstan 44°43′26″N 78°51′50″E / 44.724°N 78.864°E / 44.724; 78.864 5.8 mb 
5.4 Mw
5.1 Ms
15 km (9.3 mi) One person died of a heart attack and several buildings damaged in the city of Tekeli. 1 [17]
23 January 2024
23:09:04
Xinjiang, China 41°16′08″N 78°38′56″E / 41.269°N 78.649°E / 41.269; 78.649 7.1 Ms
7.0 Mw
MMI IX (Violent) 13 km (8.1 mi) Sixty-seven people were injured; three of whom were hospitalized. At least 44 buildings throughout Almaty Region were damaged. 3 74 [18]
4 March 2024
12:22:07
Issyk-Kul Region, Kazakhstan 42°50′10″N 76°53′49″E / 42.836°N 76.897°E / 42.836; 76.897 4.7 Mw MMI VI (Strong) 28.3 km (17.6 mi) One person injured and several buildings damaged in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 1 [19][20]

References

  1. ^ a b Frank Krüger; Galina Kulikova; Angela Landgraf (2018). "Magnitudes for the historical 1885 (Belovodskoe), the 1887 (Verny) and the 1889 (Chilik) earthquakes in Central Asia determined from magnetogram recordings". Geophysical Journal International. 215 (3). Oxford University Press: 1824–1840. doi:10.1093/gji/ggy377.
  2. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Today in Earthquake History: January 3". United States Geological Survey. 27 October 2009. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Significant Earthquake Information KYRGYZSTAN". NGDC. Retrieved 25 January 2024.
  5. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  6. ^ Zhunusov, Toleubai. "Earthquake Resistance of Prestressed Reinforced Concrete and Conventional Structures" (PDF). Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur. 2.
  7. ^ ANSS. "M 7.1 - 23 km ENE of Tyup, Kyrgyzstan 1978". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  8. ^ ANSS. "M 6.6 - 47 km NNE of Zaysan, Kazakhstan 1990". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  9. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  10. ^ ANSS. "M 6.2 - 55 km N of Zaysan, Kazakhstan 1990". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  11. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  12. ^ ANSS. "M 5.0 - 48 km N of Zaysan, Kazakhstan 1990". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  13. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  14. ^ ANSS. "M 7.3 - 60 km ENE of Toktogul, Kyrgyzstan 1992". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  15. ^ ANSS. "M 6.0 - 106 km E of Kegen, Kazakhstan 2003". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  16. ^ "Earthquake hits NW China's Xinjiang, kills 11". People's Daily. 2 December 2003. Retrieved 1 September 2025.
  17. ^ NGDC. "Significant Earthquake Information". Retrieved 18 February 2024.
  18. ^ ANSS. "M 7.0 - 128 km WNW of Aykol, China 2024". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  19. ^ ANSS. "M 4.7 - 25 km NW of Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan 2024". Comprehensive Catalog. U.S. Geological Survey.
  20. ^ "Алматыда жер сілкінісінен бір адам зардап шекті" [One person was injured by the earthquake in Almaty] (in Kazakh). Adyrna. 4 March 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2025.