May 19, 1884 Earthquake: Qeshm I,bandar-E-Laft,saheli,tonban,direstan, Iran
An earthquake struck Qeshm I,bandar-E-Laft,saheli,tonban,direstan, Iran on May 19, 1884. It killed 238 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
- May 19, 1884
- Place
- Qeshm I,bandar-E-Laft,saheli,tonban,direstan, Iran
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 26.810° N, 55.910° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 238
- Injuries
- 500
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
May 19, 1884 (24 Rajab 1301), Persian Gulf. A destructive earthquake in the central part of Qishm island ruined 15 villages, 34 mosques and killed 238 people, injuring about 500. The shock caused cracks to open in the ground and many water reservoirs were destroyed, forcing the inhabitants to leave the island. The earthquake did not cause much damage in the town of Qishm. It was strongly felt in Bandar 'Abbas, Linga and Ra's al-Khaima. Aftershocks continued until July. (reference #3845)
May 19, 1884. A violent earthquake occurred on Qishm island.
The shocks continued for several days the most violent was on May 20 when several villages were partially destroyed and according to Wilson (1930) 132 deaths were said to have occurred. Shocks were also felt on the mainland at Lingeh, but did no damage there. According to Khababi (Iqtedari and Setayesh, 1963 p. 129 & 700) the total number of people killed was 218, as follow: 71 at Laft, 2 at Soheil, 7 at
Tuban, 30 at Direstan, 1 at Suza, 16 at Ramkun, 10 at Kusheh, 8 at Band-e-Hajieli, 20 at Gurbebdan and Surghan, 7 at Karvan, 11 at Zeinabi, 18 at Pey-Posht, 4 at Majian and 13 at Giah-den. According to Nulla Soleiman, 4 others were also killed at Pol village on the mainland. (reference #1217)
May 19, 1884, 26.81 N, 55.91 E, intensity VIII. (reference #3437)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 11, 1897, Qeshm Island, Larak Island, Iran
- April 24, 1960, Lar, Iran
- October 31, 1956, Bastak, Iran
- March 21, 1977, Bandar Abbas, Iran
- August 1880, Bastak, Jonah, Iran
- June 11, 1961, Dehkuyeh,khaneh,lar,shagheb,nokhriz,bighu, Iran
- November 6, 1990, S, Darab, Iran
- November 27, 2005, Qeshm, Zirang
- January 15, 1953, Lar, Iran
- July 9, 1902, Qeshm,bandar Abbas,genu, Qeshm Island, Iran
- September 10, 2008, Hormozgan Province, Iran
- March 7, 1975, Sarkhun,qaleh Qazi,qadhad,nong-E-Bala, Iran
- July 1, 2022, Hormozgan Province, Iran
- July 29, 1963, Gahkom,laigazan,patkuiyeh,golruiyeh,ganj, Iran
- June 3, 2006, Qeshm, Southern, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1884The 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 2333.