This is a list of earthquakes in 1987. 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.

By death toll

Rank Magnitude Deaths Location MMI Depth (km) Date
1 7.1 1,000 Ecuador Ecuador, Napo IX (Violent) 10.0 March 6
2 6.7 37 Indonesia Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara VII (Very strong) 33.0 November 26

By magnitude

Rank Magnitude Deaths Location Max Intensity Depth (km) Date (MM-DD)
1 7.9 0 United States United States, Alaska offshore VI (Strong) 10.0 November 30
2 7.6 1 Chile Chile, Antofagasta VI (Strong) 62.3 March 5
2 7.4 0 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, West New Britain offshore VIII (Severe) 47.8 October 16
2 7.4 0 Australia Australia, Macquarie Island offshore I (Not felt) 33.0 September 3
2 7.4 3 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, Morobe offshore VII (Very strong) 54.9 February 8
6 7.3 0 Tonga Tonga, Vava'u offshore IV (Light) 16.0 October 6
7 7.2 5 Chile Chile, Tarapacá VII (Very strong) 69.7 September 8
7 7.2 1,000 Ecuador Ecuador, Napo IX (Violent) 10.0 March 6
9 7.1 0 Indonesia Indonesia, Banda Sea offshore V (Moderate) 67.3 June 17
10 7.0 0 Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, Bougainville offshore V (Moderate) 24.7 October 12
10 7.0 0 Argentina Argentina, Jujuy IV (Light) 248.7 April 1
10 7.0 0 Chile Chile, Antofagasta offshore IV (Light) 34.8 March 5
10 7.0 0 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sandwich Islands offshore I (Not felt) 47.6 January 30

By month

January

Date Country and location Mw Depth (km) MMI Notes Casualties
Dead Injured
2[1]  Egypt, Ismailia 5.0 24.1 V Minor damage occurred in Ismailia. - -
3[2]  Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea offshore 6.2 5.0 I This two similarly sized earthquakes occurring an hour apart can be considered a doublet earthquake. - -
3[3]  Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea offshore 6.3 5.0 I - -
3[4]  Vanuatu, Sanma 6.7 14.5 VII - - -
4[5]  Panama, Chiriquí offshore 6.3 10.0 I - - -
5[6]  United States, Alaska offshore 6.8 33.0 V - - -
5[7]  China, Xinjiang 5.7 16.5 VII Several people were injured and damage occurred in Baicheng. - Several
7[8]  Albania, Korçë 5.0 13.5 VI Damage occurred in Ersekë and Gostivisht. - -
9[9]  Japan, Iwate 6.6 66.7 VI Minor damage occurred in Morioka and Ōfunato. - -
9[10]  Tonga, Tongatapu offshore 6.5 33.0 I - - -
11[11]  Iran, Fars 4.9 9.7 VI 300 houses were damaged in Doshman Ziari. - -
13[12]  Colombia, Chocó offshore 6.0 10.0 II - - -
13[13] southern East Pacific Rise 6.0 10.0 I - - -
14[14]  Japan, Hokkaido 6.8 102.0 VI Six people were injured. - 6
15[15]  El Salvador, La Libertad 4.0 10.0 IV This is an aftershock of the 1986 San Salvador earthquake. Additional damage was caused, with many structures previously damaged by the October event collapsed. - -
22[16] Italy, Tuscany offshore 4.2 21.6 IV Two people died of heart attacks. 2 -
24[17]  China, Xinjiang 6.2 28.9 VII 417 houses were damaged in Wushi. - -
26[18]  Algeria, Chlef 4.9 10.0 VI One person was killed, another seven were injured, and 629 houses were damaged in Mohammadia. 1 7
30[19] South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sandwich Islands offshore 7.0 47.6 I - - -

February

Date Country and location Mw Depth (km) MMI Notes Casualties
Dead Injured
6[20]  Japan, Fukushima offshore 6.4 35.6 IV It is a foreshock of the 6.8 quake an hour later. - -
6[21]  Japan, Fukushima offshore 6.8 47.7 V Small tsunamis were observed, the largest having 12 cm at Onahama. - -
7[22]  Papua New Guinea, Morobe offshore 6.2 27.4 VI It is a foreshock of the 7.4 event two days later. - -

References

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the USGS

  1. ^ "M 5.0 - 14 km SSW of Ismailia, Egypt".
  2. ^ "M 6.2 - 191 km SW of Lorengau, Papua New Guinea".
  3. ^ "M 6.3 - 189 km SW of Lorengau, Papua New Guinea".
  4. ^ "M 6.7 - 92 km E of Port-Olry, Vanuatu".
  5. ^ "M 6.3 - 229 km S of Punta de Burica, Panama".
  6. ^ "M 6.8 - 64 km SSW of Nikolski, Alaska".
  7. ^ "M 5.7 - 122 km NE of Aksu, China".
  8. ^ "M 5.0 - 14 km NW of Ersekë, Albania".
  9. ^ "M 6.6 - 35 km NW of Miyako, Japan".
  10. ^ "M 6.5 - 231 km NW of Nuku'alofa, Tonga".
  11. ^ "M 4.9 - 30 km ESE of N?r?b?d, Iran".
  12. ^ "M 6.0 - 179 km WSW of Bahía Solano, Colombia".
  13. ^ "M 6.0 - southern East Pacific Rise".
  14. ^ "M 6.8 - 47 km ENE of Shizunai-furukawach?, Japan".
  15. ^ "M 4.0 - 2 km S of San Pablo Tacachico, El Salvador".
  16. ^ "M 4.2 - 14 km WSW of Livorno, Italy".
  17. ^ "M 6.2 - 89 km WNW of Aksu, China".
  18. ^ "M 4.9 - 21 km SE of Oued Sly, Algeria".
  19. ^ "M 7.0 - South Sandwich Islands region".
  20. ^ "M 6.4 - 80 km E of Iwaki, Japan".
  21. ^ "M 6.8 - 72 km E of Iwaki, Japan".
  22. ^ "M 6.2 - 84 km N of Finschhafen, Papua New Guinea".

Notes