Earthquakes · history

Major earthquakes in Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan lies in a seismically active zone: Shamakhi has been destroyed by earthquakes several times, and the 2000 Caspian shock was felt across Baku. Below are the strongest quakes, with sources.

The strongest earthquakes

13 earthquakes

2026 Caspian Sea, off the Lankaran coast8 April 2026, 13:05

Magnitude
ML 5.3 (RSXM)

Intensity
IV

Depth 70 km. Felt at 4–3 points in Lankaran, Yardimli, Lerik, Astara, Jalilabad and Neftchala; no damage or injuries.

Note: USGS: Mw 5.6.

Sources: Report.az, USGS
2023 Caspian Sea, off the Siyazan coast7 December 2023, 08:15

Magnitude
ML 5.6 (RSXM)

Intensity
V

Depth ~70 km. Felt at up to 5 points on the coast and in Absheron; no damage.

Note: USGS: Mw 5.4.

Sources: Report.az, USGS
2019 Ismayilli (damage mostly in Shamakhi)5 February 2019, 23:31

Magnitude
ML 5.2 (RSXM)

Intensity
VI

About 3,000 houses and buildings were damaged, over 2,000 of them in Shamakhi; 30 people sought medical help.

Note: USGS: Mw 5.0.

Sources: RSXM, NOAA NCEI
2018 Zaqatala – Qakh5 June 2018, 22:40

Magnitude
Mw 5.3 (USGS)

Intensity
VII

One person died of a heart attack, about 30 were injured and houses cracked.

Note: RSXM gave 5.5.

Sources: NOAA NCEI, USGS
2015 Shaki – Oghuz4 September 2015, 09:49

Magnitude
ML 5.9 (RSXM)

Intensity
VII

Intensity 7 at the epicentre; several houses were damaged in Oghuz district.

Note: USGS: Mw 5.4.

Sources: RSXM, Report.az
2012 Zaqatala, Balakan, Qakh7 May 2012, 09:40 and 19:15

Magnitude
ML 5.6 + 5.7 (RSXM)

Intensity
VII

Two strong shocks in one day; the evening one did more damage. No one died, dozens were injured and about 3,000 houses collapsed or became unsafe. More than 500 aftershocks were recorded.

Note: USGS: Mw 5.6 and 5.3.

Sources: USGS, president.az, RSXM
2000 Caspian Sea, 15–25 km south of Baku25 November 2000, 22:09

Magnitude
Mw 6.8 (USGS) · ML 6.2 (RSXM)

Intensity
VI

The strongest earthquake in modern Baku, followed a minute and a half later by a second strong shock. 31 people died — most of them of heart attacks — over 400 were injured, and 450 buildings in Baku and Sumgait were badly damaged.

Note: The magnitude differs by source: USGS Mw 6.8, RSXM ML 6.2. Death tolls also vary (26–35); 31 is from the UN's OCHA report.

Sources: USGS, OCHA, RSXM
1998 Lerik, Talysh Mountains9 July 1998

Magnitude
Mw 6.0

One of the strongest earthquakes recorded on Azerbaijan's land territory since 1900. According to USGS, it caused extensive damage in Astara, Bilasuvar, Imishli, Lankaran, Masalli and Yardimli.

Sources: USGS
1902 Shamakhi13 February 1902

Magnitude
M 6.9 / Mw 7.4

Intensity
VIII–IX

The town was almost entirely destroyed: according to newspapers of the time, about 2,000 people died and 4,000 houses collapsed. Researchers have found that the quake ruptured the ground surface.

Note: Classic catalogues give magnitude 6.9; a 2024 study by Oxford University and RSXM suggests it may have reached Mw 7.4.

Sources: NOAA NCEI, Pierce et al. 2024, Eos
1872 Shamakhi28 January 1872

Magnitude
Ms 5.7

Intensity
VIII–IX

118 people died and 44 were injured; most of the town was destroyed.

Sources: NOAA NCEI
1859 Shamakhi11 June 1859

Magnitude
M 5.9

Intensity
IX

100 people died, 286 were injured and 741 buildings were destroyed. After this earthquake the provincial capital moved from Shamakhi to Baku.

Sources: NOAA NCEI, Pierce et al. 2025
1668 ShamakhiLate 1667 – early 1668

Magnitude
Ms 6.9

Intensity
IX–X

The most destructive earthquake in Shamakhi's history. Shocks went on for three months; most buildings in the town collapsed and the ground split open.

Note: Old catalogues give 80,000 dead; a later study (Nikonov, 1982) puts it at 6,000–8,000. The year is also disputed: 1667 or 1668.

Sources: NOAA NCEI, Pierce et al. 2025
1139 Ganja30 September 1139

Magnitude
not measured

Intensity
XI

Ganja was destroyed. A landslide from Mount Kapaz dammed a gorge and formed Lake Goygol, which is still there. Medieval chroniclers put the dead at 230,000; the figure is not reliable.

Note: No instrumental record; any magnitude is an estimate.

Sources: NOAA NCEI, Ambraseys 2004

Strongest earthquakes recorded by RSXM (since 2021)

5.6ML Caspian Sea 37 km E of Siyazan depth 70 km Felt · up to 5 (MSK-64) 08:157 Dec 2023
5.6ML Caspian Sea 26 km E of Khachmaz depth 66 km Felt · up to 6 (MSK-64) 00:014 Jul 2023
5.3ML Caspian Sea 59 km E of Astara depth 70 km Felt · up to 4 (MSK-64) 13:058 Apr 2026
5.3ML Lankaran 18 km W of the district centre depth 20 km Felt · up to 6 (MSK-64) 17:2111 May 2024
5.2ML Kurdamir 13 km SE of the district centre depth 52 km Felt · up to 5 (MSK-64) 20:353 Sep 2023
5.1ML Gabala 17 km S of the district centre depth 42 km Felt · up to 5 (MSK-64) 15:1312 Jun 2026
5.1ML Shirvan 29 km SW of Shirvan depth 45 km Felt · up to 4 (MSK-64) 22:0519 Jan 2024
5.1ML Jalilabad 37 km W of Jalilabad depth 15 km Felt · up to 5 (MSK-64) 09:188 Nov 2023
5.1ML Shamakhi 10 km W of the district centre depth 41 km Felt · up to 5 (MSK-64) 16:4620 Nov 2021
5.0ML Caspian Sea 167 km from Baku depth 62 km 08:3223 Dec 2025

Among the quakes RSXM has published since 2021, by magnitude.

Why does Azerbaijan have earthquakes?

Azerbaijan lies in the seismically active part of the Alpine-Himalayan fold belt (RSXM). The Arabian plate converges on Eurasia by about 10 mm a year, and much of that squeeze is taken up by the Kura fold-and-thrust belt along the southern foot of the Greater Caucasus — the faults that ruptured in Shamakhi's 1668 and 1902 earthquakes (Oxford University and RSXM, 2024).

In the Caspian, along the Absheron–Balkhan sill, earthquakes occur 80 km deep and more: the South Caspian basin is sinking beneath the central Caspian. This is why deep offshore quakes near Baku (2000, 2023, 2026) are felt on land.

Sources: RSXM, 2021, Pierce et al., 2024, Jackson et al., 2002

Intensity scale (MSK-64): how a shock is felt

I–III: Not felt, or felt only by a few people at rest.
IV: Felt indoors by many; windows and dishes rattle.
V: Felt by everyone; sleepers wake, hanging objects swing.
VI: People are frightened and run outdoors; small cracks in plaster.
VII: Buildings are damaged and walls crack; standing is difficult.
VIII: Heavy damage; some old and weak buildings collapse.
IX–XII: Most buildings are destroyed; the ground cracks and slides.

seismology.az

Good to know

Magnitude and intensity: what is the difference?

Magnitude (ML, Mw) measures the energy an earthquake releases — one number per quake. Intensity (the MSK-64 scale, I–XII) describes how strongly the shaking is felt at a particular place, and it falls with distance from the epicentre. "Magnitude 4" and "intensity 4" are not the same thing.

What to do in an earthquake?

Indoors, get under a sturdy table or stay by an inner wall, away from windows; do not use the lift or run for the stairs. Outdoors, move away from buildings, trees and power lines. When the shaking stops, check the gas and electricity. Emergencies: 112, ambulance: 103. RSXM's safety rules (in Azerbaijani)

Latest earthquakes in Azerbaijan →

Major earthquakes in Azerbaijan

The strongest earthquakes

Strongest earthquakes recorded by RSXM (since 2021)

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