November 16, 1869 Earthquake: Biskra, Algeria
An earthquake struck Biskra, Algeria on November 16, 1869 at 11:45 UTC. It killed 40 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
- November 16, 1869
- Time
- 11:45 UTC
- Place
- Biskra, Algeria
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 34.900° N, 5.900° E
- Country
- Algeria
The toll
- Deaths
- 40
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
November 16, 1869, epicenter 34 deg 9 min N, 5 deg 9 min E, intensity IX damage and victims in the Biskra region. (reference #1201)
November 16m 1869, 12h45m [local time], 34.9N, 5.9E, intensity = IX-X. A disastrous shock in the region of Biskra, the oases near Biskra suffered very much, at Biskra the military buildings were fissured, at Seriana and El Hebbab many houses, at Sidi Okba 45 houses and at Gurta one third of houses thrown down, houses damaged at Tchouda, Droh, Mechonnek, about 40 victims, felt at Batna strongly and at Setif slightly, landslides? (reference #1099)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 12, 1946, Hodna Mountains, Algeria
- December 3, 1885, M'Sila, Algeria
- October 27, 1985, Annaba-Setif-Souk, Algeria
- January 1, 1965, M'Sila, Algeria
- March 20, 2006, Northern, Algeria
- May 14, 2010, Beni Yellman, Northern, Algeria
- February 25, 1968, El Alen (Babord), Algeria
- July 11, 1975, Djebel Babor, Algeria
- March 16, 1924, Batna, Algeria
- April 16, 1943, Mansourah, Algeria
- August 7, 2020, Milah, Algeria
More
Significant earthquakes of 1869The 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 2160.