This is a list of earthquakes in 1985. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to
UTC time.
February 2 – A 5.3 magnitude earthquake in Southern
Iran. One person was killed, eighty were injured and about 1,500 buildings were damaged in the
Firouzabad-
Jahrom area.
February 23; A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the
Solomon Islands.
March
March 2 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits
Sulawesi. Also felt at
Palu.
March 3 – A
7.5 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Central Chile. At least 177 people killed, 2,575 injured and extensive damage in central Chile, including the cities of
San Antonio,
Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago and
Rancagua. Maximum intensity felt in the Valparaíso area. Extensive ground cracks and subsidence occurred throughout most of the epicentral area. Numerous landslides in the coastal mountains. Felt in Chile along a 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) strip from
Copiapó to
Valdivia. Also felt at Mendoza, San Juan,
Buenos Aires and
São Paulo. A tsunami generated with wave heights: 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) at Valparaíso; 48 centimetres (1.57 ft) at
Hilo, Hawaii; 15 centimetres (0.49 ft) at
Sand Point, Alaska; 12 centimetres (0.39 ft) at
Adak, Alaska; 11 centimetres (0.36 ft) at
Rikitea,
Gambier Islands; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at
Papeete,
Tahiti; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at
Kushiro,
Nemuro and
Miyako, Japan; 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at
Seward, Alaska; 4 centimetres (0.13 ft) at
Kodiak, Alaska; and 3 centimetres (0.098 ft) at
Honolulu and
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
March 3 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 14 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hits
southern Italy. One person died of fright. Slight damage in
Isernia Province.
March 17 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake near the coast of central Chile. One person died from a heart attack at Santiago. Damage in the Valparaíso-Viña del Mar area. Also felt at San Antonio,
Melipilla, Santiago, La Serena,
Pichilemu,
Santa Cruz,
Curicó,
Talca, and Concepción. Also felt in Mendoza and San Juan Provinces, Argentina.
March 19 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits coast of central Chile. Felt at San Antonio, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, and from Concepción to Coquimbo.
March 19 – A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits
Bolivia. Two people killed and damage in the
Monteagudo area. Felt at
Santa Cruz and
Sucre.
March 29 – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hits
Sichuan Province, China. One person killed, 120 injured and some damage in the
Neijiang area.
April
April 9 – A
7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Central Chile. One person died from a heart attack, several people injured and some damage in the Santiago-Valparaiso area. One additional person died from a heart attack at Chillan. Felt throughout much of central Chile from La Serena to
Osorno. Also felt at Mendoza, Argentina, in San Juan, San Luis, Córdoba,
Tucumán and Santa Fé Provinces.
May 10 – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits
New Britain. One person killed. Damage in the
Bialla-
Hoskins area. Extensive landslides, debris flows and fallen trees in the
Nakanai Mountains. Ground cracks and subsidence occurred. A temporary hot springs was observed near
Malosi. Felt at
Rabaul and strongly in many parts of
Papua New Guinea.
June 6 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
June 23 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits
Solomon Islands. Felt strongly in the eastern side of the islands.
July
July 3 – A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits
New Britain. Damage, landslides and ground cracks on
New Ireland and in the Rabaul area, New Britain. A 1.3-meter tsunami was observed in Rabaul's harbor followed by a seiche that lasted for 15 hours. Also felt at
Panguna,
Bougainville.
July 3 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs in
Vanuatu.
July 22 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits New Britain.
August 21 – A 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Northern
Peru. At least 100 people injured, 60 homes destroyed and damage to other buildings in the
Chimbote area. Felt along the coast of Peru from
Chiclayo to
Chincha.
August 31 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits the
Greece-
Albania border region. Some minor injuries, damage and landslides in the
Preveza area, Greece.
September
September 11 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China. Four people killed, 61 injured and damage in the Wuqia-Kashi-Shufu area. Felt at Sufi-Kurgan, Osh and at Andizhan and Fergana, USSR.
September 16 – A West
New Guinea region is affected by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. At least 10 people killed, 7 injured and damage in the Enarotali area. Slumping observed in the epicentral area.
Damage provoked by the September 19 Mexico earthquake.
September 19 – A
magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits
Michoacán,
Mexico. At least 10,000+ people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of
Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometres (319,000 sq mi), caused between 3 and 4 billion
U.S. dollars of damage, and was felt by almost 20 million people. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at
Ciudad Guzmán,
Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of
Colima,
Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacán,
Morelos, parts of
Veracruz and in other areas of
Jalisco. The maximum
Modified Mercalli intensity was IX at Mexico City, Ciudad Guzmán and the Pacific Coast towns of
Lázaro Cárdenas, Ixtapa and La Unión. Felt reports were received from
Mazatlan,
Sinaloa to
Tuxtla Gutierrez,
Chiapas, and as far away as
Guatemala City, and
Houston, Texas. The quake was also felt at
Brownsville,
McAllen,
Corpus Christi, Ingram and
El Paso,
Texas. It was felt very strongly by people on board the ship Nedlloyd Kyoto, who were in 17°35.4′N102°36.9′W / 17.5900°N 102.6150°W / 17.5900; -102.6150. Landslides caused damage at Atenquique, Jalisco and near Jala, Colima. Rockslides were reported along the highways in the
Ixtapa area and sandblows and ground cracks were observed at Lázaro Cardenas. A tsunami was generated which caused some damage at Lázaro Cardenas,
Zihuatanejo and
Manzanillo. Estimated wave heights were 3 metres (9.8 ft) at Zihuatanejo and 2.8 metres (9.2 ft) at Lázaro Cardenas. Tide stations recorded maximum wave heights of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) meters at
Acapulco; 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) at
La Libertad,
Ecuador; 58 centimetres (1.90 ft) at
Acajutla,
El Salvador; 24 centimetres (0.79 ft) at
Kahului,
Hawaii and at
Pago Pago,
American Samoa; 22 centimetres (0.72 ft) at
Hilo,
Hawaii; 21 centimetres (0.69 ft) at
Baltra Island,
Galapagos; 14 centimetres (0.46 ft) at
Apia,
Samoa; 7 centimetres (0.23 ft) at
Rikitea,
Gambier Islands; and 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at
Papeete,
Tahiti. Some ships off the Pacific coast of Mexico observed unusually heavy seas up to 30 meters high near the time of the earthquake. Seiches were observed in
East Galveston Bay, Texas and in swimming pools in Texas,
New Mexico,
Colorado and Idaho. Water well fluctuations were recorded at
Ingleside, Texas;
Santa Fe, New Mexico;
Rolla, Missouri;
Hillsborough County, Florida; and
Smithsburg, Maryland. A large percentage of the buildings which were damaged in Mexico City were between 8 and 18 stories high, indicating possible resonance effects with dominant two-second period horizontal
ground accelerations which were recorded in the area.
September 20 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs near the coast of
Guerrero, Mexico. Caused additional casualties and damage in the Mexico City area. Felt in many parts of central Mexico. Local tsunami recorded at Acapulco with maximum amplitude of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). Water well fluctuations recorded at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
September 27 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits
Solomon Islands. Several houses destroyed. Felt at Viso and Honiara. Felt throughout Guadalcanal. Several landslides in southern Guadalcanal.
September 28 – A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hits
Yugoslavia. Sixteen people injured and about 500 buildings damaged in the
Demir Kapija-
Negotino area.
October 11 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake in
Guatemala. Several people injured and about 500 houses destroyed at
San Miguel Uspantán. About 80 percent of the buildings in the town sustained some damage. Felt strongly in western Guatemala. Felt also at
Guatemala City.
December 16 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Vanuatu Islands.
December 21 – Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.6 and 6.5 hit Vanuatu Islands.
December 23 – A
magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurs in the northwest territories of Canada. Felt at Fort Simpson, Wrigley, and Fort Liard. Some people fled from buildings in
Edmonton,
Alberta about 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the epicenter. Felt in parts of Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Also felt at Camas, Washington; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Metlakatla, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Helena, Montana; and Spokane, Washington.
December 25 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake in
Sicily. One person killed, 14 injured and damage on Sicily. Mt. Etna erupted.
This is a list of earthquakes in 1985. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to
UTC time.
February 2 – A 5.3 magnitude earthquake in Southern
Iran. One person was killed, eighty were injured and about 1,500 buildings were damaged in the
Firouzabad-
Jahrom area.
February 23; A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the
Solomon Islands.
March
March 2 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits
Sulawesi. Also felt at
Palu.
March 3 – A
7.5 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Central Chile. At least 177 people killed, 2,575 injured and extensive damage in central Chile, including the cities of
San Antonio,
Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago and
Rancagua. Maximum intensity felt in the Valparaíso area. Extensive ground cracks and subsidence occurred throughout most of the epicentral area. Numerous landslides in the coastal mountains. Felt in Chile along a 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) strip from
Copiapó to
Valdivia. Also felt at Mendoza, San Juan,
Buenos Aires and
São Paulo. A tsunami generated with wave heights: 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) at Valparaíso; 48 centimetres (1.57 ft) at
Hilo, Hawaii; 15 centimetres (0.49 ft) at
Sand Point, Alaska; 12 centimetres (0.39 ft) at
Adak, Alaska; 11 centimetres (0.36 ft) at
Rikitea,
Gambier Islands; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at
Papeete,
Tahiti; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at
Kushiro,
Nemuro and
Miyako, Japan; 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at
Seward, Alaska; 4 centimetres (0.13 ft) at
Kodiak, Alaska; and 3 centimetres (0.098 ft) at
Honolulu and
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
March 3 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 14 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hits
southern Italy. One person died of fright. Slight damage in
Isernia Province.
March 17 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake near the coast of central Chile. One person died from a heart attack at Santiago. Damage in the Valparaíso-Viña del Mar area. Also felt at San Antonio,
Melipilla, Santiago, La Serena,
Pichilemu,
Santa Cruz,
Curicó,
Talca, and Concepción. Also felt in Mendoza and San Juan Provinces, Argentina.
March 19 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits coast of central Chile. Felt at San Antonio, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, and from Concepción to Coquimbo.
March 19 – A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits
Bolivia. Two people killed and damage in the
Monteagudo area. Felt at
Santa Cruz and
Sucre.
March 29 – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hits
Sichuan Province, China. One person killed, 120 injured and some damage in the
Neijiang area.
April
April 9 – A
7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Central Chile. One person died from a heart attack, several people injured and some damage in the Santiago-Valparaiso area. One additional person died from a heart attack at Chillan. Felt throughout much of central Chile from La Serena to
Osorno. Also felt at Mendoza, Argentina, in San Juan, San Luis, Córdoba,
Tucumán and Santa Fé Provinces.
May 10 – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits
New Britain. One person killed. Damage in the
Bialla-
Hoskins area. Extensive landslides, debris flows and fallen trees in the
Nakanai Mountains. Ground cracks and subsidence occurred. A temporary hot springs was observed near
Malosi. Felt at
Rabaul and strongly in many parts of
Papua New Guinea.
June 6 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
June 23 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits
Solomon Islands. Felt strongly in the eastern side of the islands.
July
July 3 – A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits
New Britain. Damage, landslides and ground cracks on
New Ireland and in the Rabaul area, New Britain. A 1.3-meter tsunami was observed in Rabaul's harbor followed by a seiche that lasted for 15 hours. Also felt at
Panguna,
Bougainville.
July 3 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs in
Vanuatu.
July 22 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits New Britain.
August 21 – A 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Northern
Peru. At least 100 people injured, 60 homes destroyed and damage to other buildings in the
Chimbote area. Felt along the coast of Peru from
Chiclayo to
Chincha.
August 31 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits the
Greece-
Albania border region. Some minor injuries, damage and landslides in the
Preveza area, Greece.
September
September 11 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China. Four people killed, 61 injured and damage in the Wuqia-Kashi-Shufu area. Felt at Sufi-Kurgan, Osh and at Andizhan and Fergana, USSR.
September 16 – A West
New Guinea region is affected by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. At least 10 people killed, 7 injured and damage in the Enarotali area. Slumping observed in the epicentral area.
Damage provoked by the September 19 Mexico earthquake.
September 19 – A
magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits
Michoacán,
Mexico. At least 10,000+ people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of
Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometres (319,000 sq mi), caused between 3 and 4 billion
U.S. dollars of damage, and was felt by almost 20 million people. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at
Ciudad Guzmán,
Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of
Colima,
Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacán,
Morelos, parts of
Veracruz and in other areas of
Jalisco. The maximum
Modified Mercalli intensity was IX at Mexico City, Ciudad Guzmán and the Pacific Coast towns of
Lázaro Cárdenas, Ixtapa and La Unión. Felt reports were received from
Mazatlan,
Sinaloa to
Tuxtla Gutierrez,
Chiapas, and as far away as
Guatemala City, and
Houston, Texas. The quake was also felt at
Brownsville,
McAllen,
Corpus Christi, Ingram and
El Paso,
Texas. It was felt very strongly by people on board the ship Nedlloyd Kyoto, who were in 17°35.4′N102°36.9′W / 17.5900°N 102.6150°W / 17.5900; -102.6150. Landslides caused damage at Atenquique, Jalisco and near Jala, Colima. Rockslides were reported along the highways in the
Ixtapa area and sandblows and ground cracks were observed at Lázaro Cardenas. A tsunami was generated which caused some damage at Lázaro Cardenas,
Zihuatanejo and
Manzanillo. Estimated wave heights were 3 metres (9.8 ft) at Zihuatanejo and 2.8 metres (9.2 ft) at Lázaro Cardenas. Tide stations recorded maximum wave heights of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) meters at
Acapulco; 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) at
La Libertad,
Ecuador; 58 centimetres (1.90 ft) at
Acajutla,
El Salvador; 24 centimetres (0.79 ft) at
Kahului,
Hawaii and at
Pago Pago,
American Samoa; 22 centimetres (0.72 ft) at
Hilo,
Hawaii; 21 centimetres (0.69 ft) at
Baltra Island,
Galapagos; 14 centimetres (0.46 ft) at
Apia,
Samoa; 7 centimetres (0.23 ft) at
Rikitea,
Gambier Islands; and 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at
Papeete,
Tahiti. Some ships off the Pacific coast of Mexico observed unusually heavy seas up to 30 meters high near the time of the earthquake. Seiches were observed in
East Galveston Bay, Texas and in swimming pools in Texas,
New Mexico,
Colorado and Idaho. Water well fluctuations were recorded at
Ingleside, Texas;
Santa Fe, New Mexico;
Rolla, Missouri;
Hillsborough County, Florida; and
Smithsburg, Maryland. A large percentage of the buildings which were damaged in Mexico City were between 8 and 18 stories high, indicating possible resonance effects with dominant two-second period horizontal
ground accelerations which were recorded in the area.
September 20 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs near the coast of
Guerrero, Mexico. Caused additional casualties and damage in the Mexico City area. Felt in many parts of central Mexico. Local tsunami recorded at Acapulco with maximum amplitude of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). Water well fluctuations recorded at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
September 27 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits
Solomon Islands. Several houses destroyed. Felt at Viso and Honiara. Felt throughout Guadalcanal. Several landslides in southern Guadalcanal.
September 28 – A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hits
Yugoslavia. Sixteen people injured and about 500 buildings damaged in the
Demir Kapija-
Negotino area.
October 11 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake in
Guatemala. Several people injured and about 500 houses destroyed at
San Miguel Uspantán. About 80 percent of the buildings in the town sustained some damage. Felt strongly in western Guatemala. Felt also at
Guatemala City.
December 16 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Vanuatu Islands.
December 21 – Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.6 and 6.5 hit Vanuatu Islands.
December 23 – A
magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurs in the northwest territories of Canada. Felt at Fort Simpson, Wrigley, and Fort Liard. Some people fled from buildings in
Edmonton,
Alberta about 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the epicenter. Felt in parts of Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Also felt at Camas, Washington; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Metlakatla, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Helena, Montana; and Spokane, Washington.
December 25 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake in
Sicily. One person killed, 14 injured and damage on Sicily. Mt. Etna erupted.