Earthquakes: Kazakhstan
The Earth’s crust is divided into plates that move a few centimetres a year. Along their boundaries the rocks lock, build up stress and at some point break: that is an earthquake. On the map, the strongest earthquakes since 1900 almost draw the plate boundaries by themselves.
- Shallow (up to 70 km)
- Intermediate (70–300 km)
- Deep (over 300 km)
- Magnitude 6
- Magnitude 7
- Magnitude 8
- Magnitude 9
- Plates move apart (ridges, rifts)
- Plates slide past each other (transform faults)
- Plates collide
- Subduction: one plate sinks under the other
Earthquakes: USGS earthquake catalog (magnitude 6 or more, since 1900; without nuclear explosions). Plates: Bird (2003), version by H. Ahlenius (ODC-BY). Relief: GEBCO Compilation Group (2026) GEBCO 2026 Grid. Map: © Protomaps, © OpenStreetMap.
The words
- Magnitude
- Measures the energy released by the earthquake, with a single number for each shock. The scale is logarithmic: one step more means about 32 times more energy (USGS). Today the moment magnitude (Mw) is used.
- Intensity
- Measures the effects in a place: how people felt the shaking and how much damage it did (Mercalli scale, from I to XII). The same earthquake has a different intensity in each place, high near the epicentre and lower far away.
- Hypocentre and epicentre
- The hypocentre is the point underground where the rock breaks; the epicentre is the point on the surface right above it.
- Depth
- Shallow earthquakes (up to 70 km) are the most frequent and the most destructive. Intermediate and deep ones (down to about 700 km) happen almost only where one plate sinks under another, in subduction.
- Plate margins
- Where plates collide (Pacific Ring of Fire, Himalaya) the strongest earthquakes occur; where they slide past each other (San Andreas Fault, Anatolia) shallow ones; where they move apart (ocean ridges) usually weaker shocks.
Magnitude and energy
| Magnitude | Energy compared with magnitude 6 | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | L’Aquila, 6 April 2009 (6.3) |
| 7 | about 32 times | Haiti, 12 January 2010 (7.0) |
| 8 | about 1,000 times | Nepal, 25 April 2015 and Turkey, 6 February 2023 (7.8) |
| 9 | about 32,000 times | Japan, 11 March 2011 (9.1); Chile, 22 May 1960 (9.5) |
Each step of magnitude means about 32 times more energy (USGS). The magnitudes of the examples are those of the USGS catalog.
The Mercalli scale: what is felt and seen
| Degree | Effects |
|---|---|
| I | Not felt except by very few under especially favourable conditions. |
| II | Felt only by a few people at rest, especially on upper floors. |
| III | Felt quite noticeably indoors, especially on upper floors; many do not recognise it as an earthquake. |
| IV | During the day felt indoors by many, outdoors by few; dishes, windows and doors rattle. |
| V | Felt by nearly everyone, many awakened; some dishes or windows broken, unstable objects overturned. |
| VI | Felt by all, many frightened; heavy furniture moved, some fallen plaster; slight damage. |
| VII | Negligible damage in well-built buildings, moderate in ordinary ones, considerable in poorly built ones. |
| VIII | Slight damage in earthquake-resistant buildings, great in ordinary ones with partial collapse; chimneys, columns and walls fall. |
| IX | Considerable damage even in earthquake-resistant buildings; buildings shifted off foundations, partial collapse. |
| X | Many well-built masonry and wooden buildings destroyed with their foundations. |
| XI | Few masonry structures remain standing; bridges destroyed. |
| XII | Damage nearly total; waves seen on the ground, objects thrown into the air. |
Modified Mercalli Intensity scale (MMI), in the USGS abbreviated version. Italy uses the Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg scale (MCS), with the same twelve degrees.
Kazakhstan
- Earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more since 1900
- 6
- Of magnitude 7 or more
- 0
- Significant earthquakes since 1900
- 5
- Deaths since 1900
- 13
- The strongest
- 6.6 (14 June 1990)
Magnitude: USGS. Significant earthquakes and deaths: NOAA, which counts earthquakes with at least one death, damage of one million dollars, magnitude 7.5 or more, intensity X or a tsunami. The country is that of the epicentre; for those at sea, the nearest country within 100 km. Deaths include those from the tsunami and other effects of the earthquake.
The deadliest earthquakes
| Date | Place | Magnitude | Deaths | On the map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 2003 | China: Xinjiang: Zhaosu | 6.0 | 11 | |
| 13 June 2009 | Kazakhstan: Tekeli | 5.4 | 1 | |
| 14 June 1990 | Kazakhstan: Ust, Zaysan | 6.8 | 1 |
The strongest earthquakes since 1900
| Date | Place | Magnitude | Depth | On the map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 June 1990 | 47 km NNE of Zaysan, Kazakhstan | 6.6 | 58 km | |
| 3 June 1929 | 124 km SSW of Yanykurgan, Kazakhstan | 6.4 | 15 km | |
| 12 November 1990 | 35 km NW of Tyup, Kyrgyzstan | 6.4 | 19 km | |
| 3 August 1990 | 55 km N of Zaysan, Kazakhstan | 6.2 | 33 km | |
| 28 January 2013 | 61 km SE of Kegen, Kazakhstan | 6.1 | 15 km | |
| 1 December 2003 | 106 km E of Kegen, Kazakhstan | 6.0 | 10 km |
The world
- Earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more since 1900
- 14,477
- Of magnitude 7 or more
- 1,717
- Of magnitude 8 or more
- 108
- Deaths in significant earthquakes since 1900
- 2,564,020
USGS earthquakes from 5 January 1900 to 29 October 2026. NOAA significant earthquakes up to 22 October 2026.
The strongest earthquakes since 1900
| Date | Place | Country | Magnitude | On the map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 May 1960 | 1960 Great Chilean Earthquake (Valdivia Earthquake) | Chile | 9.5 | |
| 28 March 1964 | The 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska Earthquake | United States of America | 9.2 | |
| 26 December 2004 | 2004 Sumatra - Andaman Islands Earthquake | Indonesia | 9.1 | |
| 11 March 2011 | 2011 Great Tohoku Earthquake, Japan | Japan | 9.1 | |
| 4 November 1952 | 89 km ESE of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia | Russia | 9.0 | |
| 31 January 1906 | 1906 Ecuador-Colombia Earthquake | Ecuador | 8.8 | |
| 27 February 2010 | 2010 Maule, Chile Earthquake | Chile | 8.8 | |
| 29 July 2025 | 2025 Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia Earthquake | Russia | 8.8 | |
| 4 February 1965 | 1965 Western Aleutian Islands (Hawadax/Rat Islands) Earthquake | United States of America | 8.7 | |
| 1 April 1946 | The 1946 Unimak Island, Alaska Earthquake | At sea | 8.6 | |
| 15 August 1950 | 1950 Assam-Tibet Earthquake | India | 8.6 | |
| 9 March 1957 | 1957 Atka, Alaska Earthquake | United States of America | 8.6 | |
| 28 March 2005 | 78 km WSW of Singkil, Indonesia | Indonesia | 8.6 | |
| 11 April 2012 | 2012 Wharton Basin Earthquake | At sea | 8.6 | |
| 11 November 1922 | 94 km ENE of Vallenar, Chile | Chile | 8.5 |
Source: USGS earthquake catalog. The place as written by the USGS.
The deadliest earthquakes in history
The strongest are not always the deadliest: what matters is where the earthquake strikes, how many people live there, how houses are built and whether a tsunami follows. For ancient earthquakes the deaths are estimates, sometimes very uncertain.
| Date | Place | Magnitude | Deaths | On the map |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 January 1556 | China: Shaanxi Province | 8.0 | 830,000 | |
| 12 January 2010 | Haiti: Port-au-Prince with tsunami | 7.0 | 316,000 | |
| 13 December 115 | Turkey: Antakya (Antioch) with tsunami | 7.5 | 260,000 | |
| 29 May 525 | Turkey: Antakya (Antioch), Samandag | 7.0 | 250,000 | |
| 27 July 1976 | China: Ne: Tangshan | 7.5 | 242,769 | |
| 16 December 1920 | China: Gansu Province, Shanxi Province with tsunami | 8.3 | 235,502 | |
| 1139 | Azerbaijan: Gyzndzha | – | 230,000 | |
| 26 December 2004 | Indonesia: Sumatra: Aceh: off West Coast with tsunami | 9.1 | 227,899 | |
| 22 December 856 | Iran: Damghan, Qumis | 7.9 | 200,000 | |
| 28 December 893 | Armenia: Dvin; Iran: Ardabil | – | 150,000 | |
| 5 October 1948 | Turkmenistan: Ashkhabad | 7.2 | 110,000 | |
| 1 September 1923 | Japan: Tokyo, Yokohama with tsunami | 7.9 | 105,385 | |
| 27 September 1290 | China: Nei Mongol: Ningcheng | 6.8 | 100,000 | |
| 12 May 2008 | China: Sichuan Province with tsunami | 7.9 | 87,652 | |
| September 458 | Turkey: Antakya (Antioch) | – | 80,000 |
Source: NOAA NCEI, Global Significant Earthquake Database (doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K). Deaths: the total of the event, including tsunami and other effects.
How many strong earthquakes each year
The number of strong earthquakes changes from year to year, but it does not grow: the Earth does not shake more than before.
- Magnitude 6 or more
- Magnitude 7 or more
Source: USGS. Until the 1960s there were few seismic stations and many magnitude 6 earthquakes were not recorded: the catalog is less complete in the early decades. Last full year: 2025.
Deaths by decade
A few earthquakes cause almost all the deaths: a single event can weigh for a whole decade, like Tangshan in 1976, Sumatra in 2004 or Haiti in 2010.
Source: NOAA NCEI, significant earthquakes. The 2020s up to today.
The top ten countries
Most earthquakes of magnitude 6 or more since 1900
- Indonesia 1,120
- Papua New Guinea 842
- United States of America 767
- Japan 673
- Russia 634
- Philippines 497
- Vanuatu 489
- Chile 469
- Solomon Islands 375
- Mexico 329
Most deaths since 1900
All countries
| Country | Magnitude 6+ | Magnitude 7+ | Significant | Deaths | Strongest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | 1,120 | 139 | 287 | 259,951 | 9.1 |
| Papua New Guinea | 842 | 98 | 96 | 2,591 | 8.2 |
| United States of America | 767 | 73 | 175 | 1,367 | 9.2 |
| Japan | 673 | 91 | 184 | 147,420 | 9.1 |
| Russia | 634 | 77 | 104 | 12,086 | 9.0 |
| Philippines | 497 | 72 | 131 | 14,460 | 8.3 |
| Vanuatu | 489 | 62 | 58 | 25 | 8.1 |
| Chile | 469 | 67 | 109 | 38,609 | 9.5 |
| Solomon Islands | 375 | 61 | 51 | 178 | 8.1 |
| Mexico | 329 | 68 | 119 | 14,649 | 8.2 |
| China | 325 | 48 | 381 | 716,544 | 8.0 |
| Taiwan * | 259 | 32 | 76 | 10,935 | 8.2 |
| Peru | 207 | 48 | 124 | 70,347 | 8.4 |
| Greece | 137 | 10 | 123 | 1,575 | 7.9 |
| Argentina | 112 | 13 | 25 | 10,546 | 7.4 |
| India | 109 | 10 | 75 | 52,844 | 8.6 |
| Iran | 108 | 12 | 223 | 151,244 | 7.7 |
| New Zealand | 108 | 20 | 49 | 473 | 7.8 |
| Afghanistan | 105 | 15 | 66 | 17,403 | 7.8 |
| Turkey | 98 | 22 | 178 | 147,989 | 7.8 |
| Ecuador | 84 | 10 | 48 | 13,112 | 8.8 |
| Guatemala | 80 | 8 | 31 | 27,775 | 7.7 |
| Panama | 73 | 7 | 17 | 20 | 7.7 |
| Costa Rica | 72 | 12 | 27 | 908 | 7.6 |
| Colombia | 66 | 9 | 57 | 4,365 | 8.0 |
| Myanmar | 64 | 14 | 31 | 4,617 | 7.9 |
| Nicaragua | 61 | 8 | 32 | 14,561 | 7.7 |
| Tonga | 58 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Canada | 51 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 8.0 |
| Pakistan | 50 | 8 | 47 | 143,701 | 8.1 |
| Fiji | 42 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 7.9 |
| Bolivia | 38 | 6 | 14 | 131 | 8.2 |
| El Salvador | 33 | 5 | 21 | 3,027 | 7.7 |
| Venezuela | 33 | 5 | 31 | 7,087 | 7.7 |
| Tajikistan | 31 | 4 | 27 | 4,371 | 7.5 |
| Brazil | 27 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 7.6 |
| Italy | 27 | 2 | 137 | 120,418 | 7.2 |
| Mongolia | 27 | 6 | 6 | 30 | 8.3 |
| Dominican Republic | 24 | 3 | 10 | 1,873 | 7.8 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 23 | 5 | 16 | 617 | 8.0 |
| Ethiopia | 22 | 0 | 7 | 203 | 6.5 |
| Guam * | 21 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 7.8 |
| Nepal | 15 | 4 | 16 | 21,119 | 8.0 |
| Uzbekistan | 13 | 3 | 6 | 16,890 | 7.0 |
| Iceland | 12 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 7.0 |
| Australia | 11 | 0 | 17 | 12 | 6.7 |
| Romania | 11 | 4 | 9 | 2,659 | 7.7 |
| New Caledonia * | 10 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 7.0 |
| Puerto Rico * | 10 | 2 | 8 | 148 | 7.7 |
| Algeria | 9 | 1 | 40 | 9,127 | 7.3 |
| Wallis and Futuna * | 9 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7.0 |
| East Timor | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.2 |
| Georgia | 8 | 1 | 9 | 301 | 7.0 |
| Turkmenistan | 8 | 4 | 6 | 114,232 | 7.2 |
| Albania | 7 | 0 | 28 | 592 | 6.6 |
| Bulgaria | 7 | 3 | 13 | 138 | 7.1 |
| Cuba | 7 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 7.0 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 7 | 0 | 8 | 1,244 | 6.9 |
| Haiti | 7 | 2 | 8 | 318,284 | 7.2 |
| Mozambique | 7 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 7.0 |
| North Korea | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7.4 |
| Portugal | 7 | 0 | 12 | 119 | 6.7 |
| Tanzania | 7 | 1 | 9 | 34 | 7.0 |
| Antigua and Barbuda | 6 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.5 |
| Azerbaijan | 6 | 0 | 9 | 2,033 | 6.8 |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | 6 | 0 | 11 | 48 | 6.2 |
| Kazakhstan | 6 | 0 | 5 | 13 | 6.6 |
| Laos | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.9 |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 6 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.7 |
| Dominica | 5 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 7.4 |
| Jamaica | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1,000 | 6.8 |
| Malaysia | 5 | 1 | 3 | 19 | 7.1 |
| South Sudan | 5 | 2 | 2 | 31 | 7.2 |
| Bangladesh | 4 | 1 | 13 | 115 | 7.1 |
| Cayman Islands * | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.8 |
| Cyprus | 4 | 0 | 3 | 45 | 6.8 |
| Djibouti | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 6.5 |
| Eritrea | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Honduras | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 | 7.3 |
| Morocco | 4 | 0 | 8 | 16,775 | 6.8 |
| North Macedonia | 4 | 0 | 8 | 1,100 | 6.7 |
| Uganda | 4 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 6.5 |
| Croatia | 3 | 0 | 10 | 17 | 6.4 |
| Kenya | 3 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6.7 |
| Montenegro | 3 | 0 | 5 | 132 | 6.9 |
| Samoa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 |
| South Africa | 3 | 0 | 12 | 55 | 6.3 |
| Spain | 3 | 1 | 8 | 23 | 7.8 |
| Armenia | 2 | 0 | 5 | 28,290 | 6.8 |
| Bhutan | 2 | 0 | 5 | 11 | 6.4 |
| Egypt | 2 | 0 | 4 | 547 | 6.6 |
| Libya | 2 | 0 | 1 | 300 | 6.8 |
| Malawi | 2 | 0 | 3 | 13 | 6.2 |
| Montserrat * | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Northern Mariana Islands * | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.6 |
| Palau | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 |
| Vietnam | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 6.8 |
| Yemen | 2 | 0 | 3 | 4,011 | 6.3 |
| Zambia | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.5 |
| Anguilla * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Botswana | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 |
| British Virgin Islands * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Comoros | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Gabon | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Ghana | 1 | 0 | 2 | 22 | 6.4 |
| Greenland * | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.0 |
| Guinea | 1 | 0 | 1 | 443 | 6.3 |
| Jordan | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Madagascar | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6.0 |
| Norway | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Paraguay | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.5 |
| Saint Lucia | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 7.3 |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Saudi Arabia | 1 | 1 | 4 | 11 | 7.2 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6.2 |
| Syria | 1 | 0 | 3 | 150 | 6.4 |
| Thailand | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 6.1 |
| United States Virgin Islands * | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6.1 |
| Austria | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Burundi | 0 | 0 | 2 | 11 | – |
| Cameroon | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – |
| Central African Republic | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| France | 0 | 0 | 13 | 50 | – |
| Germany | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – |
| Hungary | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | – |
| Iraq | 0 | 0 | 1 | 20 | – |
| Kosovo * | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | – |
| Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Netherlands | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – |
| Oman | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Palestine | 0 | 0 | 2 | 288 | – |
| Poland | 0 | 0 | 8 | 31 | – |
| Rwanda | 0 | 0 | 2 | 33 | – |
| Serbia | 0 | 0 | 9 | 3 | – |
| Slovakia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Slovenia | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | – |
| South Korea | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | – |
| Sudan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | – |
| Togo | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – |
| Tunisia | 0 | 0 | 4 | 13 | – |
| United Kingdom | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | – |
* Territory or country that is not one of the 195 UN states (members and observers): it appears with its data, but not in the rankings and in the “top ten” lists.
Since 1900. Magnitude: USGS; significant earthquakes and deaths: NOAA. Only countries with at least one earthquake.
The indicators
Sources: USGS earthquake catalog (public domain); NOAA NCEI, Global Significant Earthquake Database (public domain); P. Bird (2003), An updated digital model of plate boundaries, version by H. Ahlenius (ODC-BY).