May 23, 1866 Earthquake: Kathmandu, Nepal
An earthquake struck Kathmandu, Nepal on May 23, 1866.
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, 1866
- Place
- Kathmandu, Nepal
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 27.700° N, 85.300° E
- Country
- Nepal
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Some (about 51 to 100)
- Houses damaged
- Some (about 51 to 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.
May 23, 1866, Khatmandoo, Nepal. A terrible shock; destroyed a large portion of the town. Bengal, in Calcutta shocks were slight. At Monghyr one house destroyed; at Darjiling two or three shocks felt, of which one was severe; at Jubbulpore some hosues fell. (reference #4110)
May 23, 1866, India (Nepal), Katmandu; (Bengal), Monghyr, Jubbulpore, 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)
May 23, 1866, Kathmandu, Nepal, magnitude 7. (reference #1212)
May 2, 1866, Nepal, intensity II which which corresponds to an earthquake which would uproot or shatter buildings,
cause bad cracks in ground, or landslips. Acceleration of the ground will be roughly of the order of 5 feet per sec per sec. (reference #1216)
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
- June 7, 1255, Kathmandu, Nepal
- July 7, 1869, Kathmandu, Nepal
More
Significant earthquakes of 1866The 1800sRecent 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 2105.