1570 Earthquake: Qalhat, Oman
A magnitude 7 earthquake struck Qalhat, Oman in 1570.
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
- 1570
- Place
- Qalhat, Oman
- Magnitude
- 7 (Mw)
- Intensity
- 11 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 22.600° N, 59.400° E
- Country
- Oman
The toll
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
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.
Then an earthquake caused catastrophic, complete destruction between 1570 and 1592, when we have the first record of abandonment. The city never recovered until today.
The 1570–1592 earthquake was possibly caused by the approximately 40 km long, reverse Qalhat Fault
Therefore, a magnitude of Mw 6.5 to 7.0 by the causative Qalhat Fault is suggested for the 1570–1592 earthquake.
Collapsed dome of the mausoleum of Bibi Maryam, the sole standing building of the city, excavated ruins of the Friday mosque (fractured and collapsed walls and columns, uneven subsidence of floors), and total destruction of secular buildings provide sufficient archaeoseismological evidence for a catastrophic earthquake of intensity X-XI (devastating). This catastrophic event occurred between 1570 and 1592, as testified by eyewitnesses, leaving the city ruined, causing abandonment. ShakeMap modeling suggests that a Mw 6.5–7 earthquake, possibly caused by the >40 km long Qalhat Fault, was responsible for the annihilation of Qalhat.
NOTE: year not precise, range 1570–1592
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1570The 1500sRecent earthquakes near here
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 10759.