Significant earthquakes of 1869

January 10, 1869 Earthquake: Cachar,silchar, Assam, India

January 10, 1869 · 2 deaths

An earthquake struck Cachar,silchar, Assam, India on January 10, 1869. It killed 2 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
January 10, 1869
Place
Cachar,silchar, Assam, India
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
24.500° N, 92.500° E
Country
India

The toll

Deaths
2
Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
Very many (over 1,000)
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.

Reference #1185:

At Silchar, all the pucka (properly constructed) buildings belonging to the Department of Public Works have been damaged beyond the possibility of repair, in addition, most of kutcha (makeshift) buildings have been entirely thrown down. The store-shed has fallen and several articles have been damaged or destroyed. Two people were killed.

At Sylhet[...]The steeple of the church was shattered in all directions, two pinnacles fell and two were shifted. Court houses and circuit bungalow heavily cracked.

Reference #12815:

The January10, 1869, Cachar-Manipur earthquake is referred as the most severe earthquake in the available 2000 years of written historical records of Manipur state of India. However, recent examinations of the historical records suggest that even this earthquake was not a great earthquake and the damage was very much confined in the sediment filled valleys of Imphal and Cachar (Kundu and Gahalaut 2012).

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

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 2150.