December 2, 1864 Earthquake: Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq

Name: December 2, 1864 Earthquake: Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq
Start: 1864-12-02
Location: Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq

December 2, 1864 · M6.4 · 100 deaths · 100 houses destroyed

A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq on December 2, 1864. It killed 100 people.

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: December 2, 1864
Place: Zurbatiyah, Badrah, Tursaq, Baghdad, Iraq
Magnitude: 6.4 (Ms)
Intensity: 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 33.380° N, 45.980° E
Country: Iraq

The toll

Deaths: 100
Damage: Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed: 100

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.

December 2 to 26, 1864, Asia Minor, Baghdad, Zabotia, Bassorah, Bedra-Djessan, Mendeli, intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)

December 2 to 26, 1864, Baghdad, Zorbatia, Badrah, Mendeli, Basrah, Kutal' Amara; slight shocks continued until 7th January 1865. 100 houses destroyed at Zorbatia. (reference #1217)

1864, Zurbatiyah destroyed, 100 killed. Badra and Mandali heavy damage. Strongly felt shocks continued until January 7, 1865. (reference #1222)

December 20, 1864, intensity VIII. Iraq (Zorbat), Baghdad (Kut-al-Imara). (reference #1057)

December 7, 1864, 20 local time], 33.38 N, 45.98 E, intensity VIII, magnitude 6.4, 100 people killed, Zurbatiyah, Badra, Tursaq, Badreh. (reference #3437)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1864 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 2088.