This is a list of earthquakes in 1969. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the list as they wouldn't have generated significant media interest. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Maximum intensities are indicated on the Mercalli intensity scale and are sourced from United States Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap data. Activity generally was slightly below average with 14 events reaching magnitude 7 or greater. In August, the largest event of the year struck the Kuril Islands, Russia measuring 8.2. Other large events struck offshore Portugal and Indonesia. The Americas had no events above magnitude 7 which is an uncommon occurrence. Of the 4,000 deaths from earthquakes two events dominated. Southeastern China had an earthquake of magnitude 5.7 in July which contributed 4,024 of the total. Indonesia had the bulk of the rest of the death toll.

Overall

By death toll

Rank Death toll Magnitude Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 , Guangdong Province 2 , West Sulawesi 3 , Junin Region 4 , Manisa Province 5 , North Khorasan Province 6 Afar Region 7 , Azores-Gibraltar Transform Fault 8 , SR Bosnia and Herzegovina 9 , Western Cape Note: At least 10 casualties

By magnitude

Rank Magnitude Death toll Location MMI Depth (km) Date 1 , Kuril Islands, Russia 2 , Azores-Gibraltar Transform Fault = 3 , Talaud Islands = 3 , off the west coast of northern Sumatra 4 , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia = 5 , south of Fiji = 5 , Banda Sea = 5 , east of Dominica = 6 , Vanuatu = 6 , Kuril Islands, Russia = 7 , Santa Isabel Island, Solomon Islands = 7 , off the north coast of Hokkaido = 7 , West Sulawesi = 7 , off the east coast of Kyushu Note: At least 7.0 magnitude

Notable events

January

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , North Khorasan Province 5.5 10.0 50 people were killed and some damage was caused. 50 , Santa Cruz Islands, Solomon Islands 6.9 10.0 , off the south coast 6.4 25.0 , off the north coast of Hokkaido 7.0 244.7 , Vanuatu 7.1 112.9 , Fiji 6.7 593.5 , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia 6.1 31.3 , Yap State, Federated States of Micronesia 6.2 15.0 , Talaud Islands 7.6 60.0

February

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Talaud Islands 6.8 35.0 Aftershock. , Gulf of Tomini, Sulawesi 6.1 45.0 , off the north coast 6.2 35.0 , south of Fiji 7.2 660.0 , Xinjiang Province 6.1 13.3 4 people were killed and at least 1 person was injured. Many homes were destroyed. 4 1+ , Banda Sea 7.2 430.5 , West Sulawesi 7.0 15.0 64 people were killed in the 1969 Sulawesi earthquake. A further 600 died in a tsunami which flooded the area. 97 people were injured. 1,287 homes were destroyed. 664 97 Azores-Gibraltar Transform Fault 7.8 10.0 The 1969 Portugal earthquake struck far offshore in the Atlantic Ocean but caused some damage on land. 25 people were killed and another 80 were injured. Some damage was caused. 25 80

March

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Badakhshan Province 6.2 205.6 , Papua (province) 6.3 20.0 , Ryukyu Islands 6.5 168.5 , east of Mindanao 6.1 20.0 , northern Gulf of California 6.0 10.0 , Manisa Province 5.9 15.0 Foreshock to event on March 28. Extensive damage was caused. , Kütahya Province 6.1 15.0 Foreshock to event on March 28. , Talaud Islands 6.6 50.0 Aftershock of January 30 event. , Manisa Province 6.7 10.0 53 people were killed and extensive damage was caused by the 1969 Alaşehir earthquake. 53 , Afar Region 6.2 10.0 rowspan="2"| 40 people died and a further 160 were injured by the 1969 Sardo earthquakes. Many homes were destroyed. Damage costs were $320,000 (1969 rate). Doublet earthquake. 40 160 , Afar Region 6.1 10.0 , Gulf of Suez 6.6 10.0 2 people were killed and 16 were injured in the 1969 Sharm El Sheikh earthquake. 107 homes were destroyed. 2 16 , Sea of Japan 6.7 398.1

April

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Afar Region 6.1 15.0 , south of New Ireland (island), Papua and New Guinea 6.5 25.0 , Vanuatu 6.2 100.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. Both events 23 seconds apart. , Vanuatu 6.0 35.0 , off the east coast of Kyushu 7.0 38.6 , Coquimbo Region 6.0 35.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. Two events around 4 minutes apart. , Coquimbo Region 6.2 35.0

May

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Vanuatu 6.0 10.0 , Andreanof Islands, Alaska 6.9 28.3 , northeast of Guadeloupe 6.0 34.8 , east of Samar 6.0 30.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. , east of Samar 6.0 30.0

June

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , south of Crete 6.1 22.4 , Northern Mariana Islands 6.5 202.6

July

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Bohai Sea 6.9 10.0 Major damage was caused by the 1969 Bohai earthquake. Many homes were destroyed. , off the south coast 6.4 56.7 , Junin Region 6.1 10.0 Major damage was caused. , Guangdong Province 5.7 20.0 IX Deadliest event of 1969. The 1969 Yangjiang earthquake caused major destruction in the area despite being a relatively moderate magnitude. 3,000 people were killed. 10,762 homes were destroyed. 3,000

August

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Molucca Sea 6.9 26.9 , Banda Sea 6.6 176.1 Italy, Umbria 4.7 33.0 4 people were injured and some damage was reported. 4 , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.2 25.0 Foreshock. , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.2 25.0 Foreshock. This came a minute after the previous event. , Kuril Islands, Russia 8.2 25.0 Largest event of 1969. This came just seconds after the last event. Some damage was caused. Many aftershocks followed. To prevent cluttering only events above 6.5 will be included in the article. , Molucca Sea 6.2 35.0 Aftershock of August 5 event. , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.8 30.0 Aftershock. , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.8 29.3 Aftershock. , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.8 19.3 Aftershock. , Kuril Islands, Russia 7.1 27.5 Aftershock. , Gulf of California 6.5 15.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. Events only 2 minutes apart. , Gulf of California 6.7 15.0 , Gulf of California 6.0 20.0 Aftershock. , Kuril Islands, Russia 6.6 26.7 Aftershock.

September

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Solomon Islands 6.2 25.0 rowspan="2"| Doublet earthquake. , Solomon Islands 6.0 25.0 , Gifu Prefecture, Honshu 6.3 10.0 , Andreanof Islands, Alaska 6.7 34.2 , Xinjiang Province 5.8 30.0 10 homes were destroyed. , off the southeast coast of Kyushu 6.0 35.0 , off the north coast of Simeulue 6.0 30.0 , south-western Cape Province (present-day Western Cape) 6.3 15.0 12 people were killed in the 1969 Tulbagh earthquake. Extensive property damage was caused with costs being $24 million (1969 rate). 12

October

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Junin Region 6.6 10.0 150 people were killed. Property damage costs were $5 million (1969 rate). 150 , Junin Region 6.0 10.0 Aftershock. , northern California 4.8 10.0 The 1969 Santa Rosa earthquakes caused 1 death and property damage. Costs were $8 million (1969 rate). 1 , Sagaing Region 6.3 135.0 , Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.1 15.0 rowspan="2"| In the 1969 Banja Luka earthquake 23 people were killed in total. 14 in the first event and 9 in the second. Extensive property damage was caused. Costs were $50 million (1969 rate). Doublet earthquake. 14 , Bosnia and Herzegovina 6.1 15.0 9 , Andreanof Islands, Alaska 6.6 30.0

November

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Gulf of California 6.6 10.0 , off the coast of central California 6.0 10.0 , Sistan and Baluchistan Province 6.6 75.0 , off the west coast of northern Sumatra 7.6 25.0 , off the east coast of Kamchatka, Russia 7.4 35.0 Some damage was caused. , Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region, Tajikistan 6.1 115.1 , Vanuatu 6.0 25.0

December

+DateCountry and location Mw Depth (km) MMINotes Casualties Dead Injured , Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu 6.2 20.0 , off the south coast of Sakhalin, Russia 6.3 345.0 , east of Dominica 7.2 20.0 Some damage was caused. , Ryukyu Islands 6.3 25.0

References