August 28, 1881 Earthquake: Khvoy (Khoy), Iran

Date

August 28, 1881

Place

Khvoy (Khoy), Iran

Intensity

VII, very strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

38.300° N, 44.600° E

Country

Iran

Region

Middle East

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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.

1. #1192 Berberian, Manuel (1977). Geological Survey of Iran, Tectonic and Seismotectonic Research Section, Report no. 40, Contribution to the Seismotectonics of Iran (Part III), Ministry of Industry and Mines, Tehran, Iran.
2. #1217 Nabavi, M.S. (1978). Historical Earthquakes in Iran c. 300 B.C. - 1900 A.D.. Journal of the Earth and Space Physics, Institute of Geophysics, Tehran University Press, vol. 7, no. 1, 1978, p. 70-117.

• December 24, 893, Ardabil, Dvin, Iran, Armenia150,000 deaths · 189 km
• November 18, 1727, Tabriz, Iran77,000 deaths · 152 km
• January 8, 1780, Tabriz, IranM7.7 · 50,000 deaths · 144 km
• November 4, 1042, Tabriz, IranM7.6 · 50,000 deaths · 150 km
• August 21, 1042, Tabriz, Iran40,000 deaths · 144 km
• April 26, 1721, Tabriz, IranM7.7 · 40,000 deaths · 189 km
• February 5, 1641, Tabriz, Kurdistan, Iran30,000 deaths · 135 km
• 851, Dvin, ArmeniaM5.2 · 12,000 deaths · 189 km
• January 858, Dvina, Turkey, ArmeniaM5.2 · 12,000 deaths · 189 km
• December 27, 1779, Tabriz, IranM6.5 · 10,000 deaths · 187 km
• November 24, 1976, Muradiye, TurkeyM7 · 5,000 deaths · $60 million · 98 km
• April 27, 1931, Zangezur, Nakhitchevan, ArmeniaM6.3 · 2,890 deaths · 157 km
• May 6, 1930, Salmas, IranM7.1 · 2,539 deaths · 29 km
• March 31, 1648, Van, Turkey2,000 deaths · 122 km
• 854, Tovin, Armenia2,000 deaths · 192 km

Significant earthquakes of 1881The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 2306.