May 23, 1834 Earthquake: Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Karak, Israel, Jordan

Name: May 23, 1834 Earthquake: Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Karak, Israel, Jordan
Start: 1834-05-23
Location: Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Karak, Israel, Jordan

May 23, 1834 · M6.3 · Deaths: many

A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Karak, Israel, Jordan on May 23, 1834.

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: May 23, 1834
Place: Jerusalem, Nabulus, Al-Karak, Israel, Jordan
Magnitude: 6.3
Intensity: 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 31.300° N, 35.600° E
Country: Jordan

The toll

Deaths: Many (about 101 to 1,000)
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses damaged: 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.

1834, May 23, 3l N, 35.5 E, Intensity IX-X. At Jerusalem several churches, the city wall, many houses and cisterns seriously damaged, a minaret collapsed, at Bethlehem much damage to monasteries, many people killed, at Deir Mar Saba a tower cracked, large blocks of asphalt floated on the Dead Sea. The epicentre was in the district of Lisan, the pleistoseismal area extended from south of the Dead Sea to K&aki Jenin, Ainman and the Judean hills; causalties, houses ruined in Nablus, damaged houses at Karak, serious damage at Gaza, some damage at Jerusalem and Bethlehem, some faulting in the Lebanon and in Baqa. (reference #1099)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1834 The 1800s 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 1771.