January 10, 1493 Earthquake: Nowzad-Mask, Iran

Name: January 10, 1493 Earthquake: Nowzad-Mask, Iran
Start: 1493-01-10
Location: Nowzad-Mask, Iran

January 10, 1493 · M7 · Deaths: many

A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Nowzad-Mask, Iran on January 10, 1493.

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: January 10, 1493
Place: Nowzad-Mask, Iran
Magnitude: 7 (Ms)
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 33.000° N, 59.800° E
Country: Iran

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed: Very many (over 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.

1493 January 10 Mu'minabad, This was a major earthquake, which affected the mountainous district of Mu'minabad to the east of Birjand. It occurred around midday on Friday 21 Rabi' 1,898. Most of the inhabitants of Nauzad perished and many also died in Mask. Much damage was done and houses were levelled to the ground, but there were no casualties in Dar Miyan […]

The earthquake was associated with a fault break that extended between Nauzad and Mask, the trace of which is still visible on the ground (plate 6). The trace follows the contact between flysch and the valley alluvium and near Mask this is overthrust, the fault plane dipping sharply to the south-southwest. (reference #1117)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1493 The 1400s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 647.