This is a list of earthquakes in 1997. 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. Maximum intensities are indicated on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, and all data are sourced from the United States Geological Survey.
By death toll
Rank Death toll Magnitude Location MMI Depth (km) Date Event11,5677.3, KhorasanX (Extreme)10.01997 Qayen earthquake21,1006.1, ArdabilIX (Violent)10.01997 Ardabil earthquake31007.1, HarnaiVIII (Severe)33.01997 Harnai earthquake41006.5, North KhorasanVIII (Severe)8.01997 Bojnurd earthquake5816.7, SucreVIII (Severe)20.01997 Cariaco earthquake6385.8, Madhya PradeshVIII (Severe)38.71997 Jabalpur earthquake7236.1, MizoramV (Moderate)54.0 1997 Chittagong earthquake7185.9, SulawesiVI (Strong)33.0 -8155.0, North West ProvinceVII (Very Strong)5.0 -8154.9, Khyber PakhtunkhwaIV (Light)50.0 -9125.9, XinjiangVII (Very Strong)33.0 1997 Jiashi earthquakes10116.0 Italy, UmbriaX (Extreme)10.01997 Umbria and Marche earthquake At least 10 dead.
By magnitude Rank Death toll Magnitude Location MMI Depth (km) Date107.7, Torba offshore VII (Very Strong)33.021,5677.3 Iran, QayenX (Extreme)10.0317.2, MichoacanVIII (Severe)33.041007.1 Pakistan, BalochistanVIII (Severe)33.0407.1, Kermadec Islands offshore I (Not Felt)332.7407.1, PotosiV (Moderate)276.27817.0 Venezuela, SucreVIII (Severe)19.9 At least 7.0 magnitude.
By month
January
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured5, Uttarakhand5.633.0V In neighboring Nepal, many houses were damaged in the western part of the country. - -9, Naryn5.822.2VIIAt least ten homes were destroyed and 400 others damaged. - -11, Michoacan7.233.0VIIIOne person was killed and extensive damage occurred in Arteaga.1 -12, Fier4.810.0VIMore than 70 houses were damaged in Berat District. - -21, Xinjiang5.933.0VIITwelve people were killed, forty injured and 2,500 families were displaced during the 1997 Jiashi earthquakes. About 14,000 homes were destroyed, 17,000 additional homes damaged and 3,360 livestock were killed in Jiashi County.124022, Northern California offshore5.623.0V Slight damage occurred in Petrolia and Scotia. - -22, Hatay5.710.0VIIFive people were injured and ten houses were damaged at Antakya. -523, Potosí7.1276.2V - -29, Torba offshore 6.233.0I - - -
February
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured4, North Khorasan6.510.0IXA hundred people lost their lives in this earthquake, and around 2,000 were injured in the 1997 Bojnurd earthquake. 5,500 houses were destroyed and 11,000 were damaged in Bojnurd.1002,0007, Pangai offshore 6.428.0I - - -19, Chocó5.8100.7IV Some minor damage to buildings was caused in Armenia and Pereira. - -27, Balochistan7.133.0VIII100 people died in the 1997 Harnai earthquake. Hundreds of others were injured and 500 homes were destroyed.100300+28, Ardabil6.110.0IX1,100 people were killed, 2,600 were injured and 12,000 houses were destroyed in the 1997 Ardabil earthquake.1,1002,600
March
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured1, Xinjiang5.622.4VIITwo people were killed, six injured, 4,000 houses were destroyed and 738 livestock were killed in Jiashi County.264, Shizuoka5.610.0VIThree people were injured in Itō. -34, Balochistan5.733.0VIOne person was injured and damage occurred in Sibi. -16, Accra4.410.0VISeven people were injured and power outages occurred in Accra. -711, Mindanao offshore6.9 10.0VSome damage occurred in Cagayan de Oro. - -17, Banten offshore 6.433.0VISome minor damage occurred in Jakarta. - -19, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa4.950.0IV15 people were killed, several others were injured and several houses were damaged in Bajaur. 15 Several25, Región Metropolitana5.584.0VISome buildings were damaged, power outages and landslides occurred in Santiago. - -26, Alaska, Rat Islands offshore 6.733.0IV - - -26, Beirut5.010.0VIIFifty buildings were damaged in Beirut. - -26, Acre6.1602.6I - - -26, Kyushu6.110.0IX22 people were injured and many houses were damaged in Kagoshima Prefecture. -22
April
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured1, south of6.133.0V - - -1, Tarapaca Region6.2113.8VLandslides and power outages occurred near the epicenter. This pair of earthquakes occurring only minutes apart can be considered a doublet earthquake. - -1, Tarapaca Region6.2115.6V2, Tobago offshore 6.1 45.0 V It is a foreshock of the 6.7 quake on April 22. Slight damage was observed. - -5, Morobe 6.5 69.1 VI - - -6, Xinjiang 6.0 33.0 VI It is a foreshock of the 6.2 quake 5 days later. - -11, Xinjiang 6.2 15.0 VII It is a largest of an earthquake swarm that started in January 21. At least 9 people were killed, 89 injured, 100,000 homeless, thousands of buildings were destroyed and 11,000 livestock killed in Jiashi County. 9 8921, Sola offshore 7.7 33.0 VII A tsunami with a height of caused some damage to houses in Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands. On Funafuti, Tuvalu, and Suva, Fiji, a smaller tsunami was observed. - -22, Tobago offshore 6.75.0VIIThree houses were destroyed and two people were injured. -223, Fars 4.833.0IVSome houses were damaged in the epicentral area. - -23 offshore6.5100.5VIIFour people suffered injuries and some damage occurred on Guam. -428, Prince Edward Islands offshore 6.810.0I - - -
May
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured1, Jalisco offshore 6.933.0I - - -3, Kermadec Islands offshore 6.9108.3I - - -8, Manipur6.034.9VIISeveral people were injured and some damage occurred in Sylhet, Bangladesh. -Several10, Qayen7.310.0XThe 1997 Qayen earthquake. caused severe damage throughout eastern Iran. 1,567 people were killed and 2,300 injured, including five in Afghanistan. However, this figure may be as high as 2,394.1,5672,30011 West Chile Rise6.510.0I - - -13, Kyushu6.133.0VIII34 people were injured and five houses were destroyed in Kyushu. -3413, Qayen 4.5 10.0VIt was an aftershock of the 7.3 earthquake on May 10, One person was killed and further damage was caused.1 -13, Hindu Kush region 6.5196.0IVOne person was injured in Kabul. Another was killed and eleven others injured in Peshawar, Pakistan.11217, Xinjiang 4.933.0IVOne person was injured in Jiashi County. -121, Isangel offshore 6.857.0VI - - -21, Madhya Pradesh5.836.0VIIIThe 1997 Jabalpur earthquake caused major damage, killing 38 and injuring a thousand others.381,00021, Galicia 5.418.8VII One person died of a heart attack and minor damage was caused in Galicia. 1 -22, Michoacan 6.570.0VI Many houses were damaged at Arteaga and a church were damaged at Patzcuaro, Michoacan. - -22, Babuyan Islands offshore6.133.9VI - - -25, Kermadec Islands offshore 7.1332.7I - - -
June
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured10Southern East Pacific Rise6.510.0I - - -12, Lae6.133.0VI - - -17, Alaska, Aleutian Islands offshore 6.433.0IV - - -17, Santiago del Estero5.628.2VI Minor damage occurred in Tucuman Province. - -20, Qayen5.610.0VIIThese earthquakes destroyed 160 homes and damaged 5,000 others in Qayen. - -255.910.0VII25, Yamaguchi5.910.0VII One person was injured in Yamaguchi Prefecture. A landslide occurred in Masuda. - 130, Hawaii5.18.5VIIISlight damage was caused and power outages occurred in Hilo. - -
July
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured6, Coquimbo offshore 6.819.0VI - - -6, Cortes offshore 6.133.0VI - - -9, Sucre7.019.9VIII81 people were killed and 683 injured in the 1997 Cariaco earthquake. Extensive damage and landslides occurred.8168311, Java offshore6.0574.4I - - -14, Hokkaido offshore6.133.0V - - -18, Ganja Qazakh4.233.0III 5,000 houses were damaged in Noyemberyan, Armenia. - -19, Oaxaca6.933.0VII - - -21, North West Province5.05.0VIIFifteen people were killed and 46 were injured due to a mine collapse near Stilfontein.1546
August
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured8, Erzurum4.510.0V One person was injured and seven houses were destroyed in Koprukoy. - 110, Western Australia6.310.0VIII - - -13, Chongqing4.837.2V Some damage was caused in Chongqing. - -20, Aceh6.033.0VI Several hundred houses were destroyed in Aceh. - -24, Fars5.033.0IV 67 people were injured in Firuzabad. - 6729, East Sepik6.622.8VI - - -
September
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured2, Tolima6.8198.7V - - -4 offshore6.8624.7I - - -15, Mindanao6.250.7V - - -17, Arkansas3.80.1V Small items were knocked off shelves in Lepanto. - -20, Kermadec Islands offshore7.030.0I - - -26 Italy, Umbria5.810.0VIII1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake: 11 people were killed and more than 100 were injured. Major damage was reported.1110026 Italy, Umbria6.010.0X28, Sulawesi5.933.0VI At least 18 people killed, over 300 injured and 650 houses and buildings destroyed in the Parepare-Pinrang area. 18 300
October
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured3 Italy, Umbria5.310.0VII It is an aftershock of the 1997 Umbria and Marche earthquake. Further damage was caused and 20 people were injured. - 203, Fars5.333.0V Six people injured and several houses damaged in the epicentral area. - 66, Mindanao6.5105.6V - - -13, Peloponnese6.424.0VI Minor damage occurred in southern Peloponnese. - -14, south of Tongatapu7.8167.3VII - - -14 Italy, Umbria5.510.0VIIIOne person was injured and further damage was caused to buildings already weakened by the September 26 event. Slight damage occurred in Rome. - 114, Coquimbo7.158.0VIIThe 1997 Punitaqui earthquake caused eight deaths (five in Pueblo Nuevo, and one each in La Chimba, Punitaqui, and Coquimbo) and 400 injuries. More than 20,700 houses were damaged or destroyed. 8 40028, Amazonas7.2112.0VIISlight damage occurred in Chachapoyas. - -
November
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured3, Bitlis4.833.0IV Two people were injured and seven houses were destroyed in Bitlis. - 23, Coquimbo6.245.0VI It is an aftershock of the 1997 Punitaqui earthquake. Further damage was caused and landslides occurred in the epicentral area. - -5, Central Greece5.623.8VI Power outages occurred in the Galaxidion-Itea area. - -6, Quebec4.822.5V One person died of a heart attack. 1 -8, Tibet7.533.0VII 1997 Manyi earthquake - -8, Cabañas6.5176.4IV - - -14, Hualien5.233.0IV One person was injured by a landslide in a highway between Hualien and Su'ao. - 115, Hokkaido6.1161.0IV - - -15, Sanma offshore7.0123.1VI - - -15, Ionian Islands offshore6.633.0VII Several people injured and considerable damage to buildings at Amalias, Gargalianoi, Kalamai, Kiparissia, Meligalas, Pirgos and other parts of western Peloponnisos. One house destroyed on Zakinthos. - Several21, Mizoram6.154.4V Despite being centered in Mizoram, India, the 1997 Chittagong earthquake caused damage in neighboring Bangladesh. 23 people were killed and another 200 were injured when a five-story building collapsed in Chittagong. Damage was also observed in other parts of the country. 23 20025, Gorontalo7.024.0VI At least 90 buildings were damaged in Gorontalo. - -28, La Paz6.7586.0I - - -
December
+DateCountry and locationMwDepth (km)MMINotesCasualtiesDeadInjured5, Kamchatka7.833.0VIIThe 1997 Kamchatka earthquake caused a tsunami with heights of about . The tsunami was also observed in Hawaii and Alaska. - -11, Tolima6.4177.5IVMinor damage occurred in Cali. - -17, Alaska, Rat Islands offshore6.620.0IV - - -22, Morobe7.2179.3VISome minor damage was reported in Lae. - -
References