June 7, 1255 Earthquake: Kathmandu, Nepal
An earthquake struck Kathmandu, Nepal on June 7, 1255.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- June 7, 1255
- Place
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 27.700° N, 85.300° E
- Country
- Nepal
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
12655, June 7. A violent earthquake struck on Monday,the 2nd of the waxing moon of the month of Asadha in the year N.S. 375 when the asterism was Punarvasu and the yoga was Dhruva. The earthquake toppled very many houses and temples. It claimed the lives of one-third of the whole population, and the king himself died eight days later as a result. People left their houses and lived outside for a period of a fortnight to a month after the earthquake, while aftershocks were felt for the succeeding four months.
(reference #10355)
Our findings at the Sir River site therefore imply that two surface ruptures, each with plausibly about 4-5m of throw, formed on splays of the Patu thrust during both the 1934 Bihar-Nepal earthquake and the catastrophic ad 1255 event, which killed 30% of the population of Kathmandu, including King Abhaya Malla. (reference #10356)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 15, 1934, Bihar, Nepal, India
- April 25, 2015, Kathmandu, India, China, Bangladesh, Nepal
- August 20, 1988, Kathmandu, Bihar, Nepal-India
- August 26, 1833, Tibet, Bihar, China, Kathmandu, India, Nepal
- May 12, 2015, Dolakha, Nepal
- June 21, 2017, Dhading, Nepal
- November 27, 2016, Mount Ama Dablam, Charikharka, Nepal
- May 23, 1866, Kathmandu, Nepal
- July 7, 1869, Kathmandu, Nepal
More
Significant earthquakes of 1255The 1200sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 9947.