October 31, 1895 Earthquake: Charleston, Missouri, United States

Name: October 31, 1895 Earthquake: Charleston, Missouri, United States
Start: 1895-10-31
Location: Charleston, Missouri, United States

October 31, 1895 · M5.8

A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck Charleston, Missouri, United States on October 31, 1895 at 11:08 UTC. It caused a tsunami.

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: October 31, 1895
Time: 11:08 UTC
Place: Charleston, Missouri, United States
Magnitude: 5.8 (Mw)
Intensity: 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 36.900° N, 89.300° W
Country: United States

The toll

Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 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.

What the record says

NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.

5:08 am local time (Central Standard Time). This is the largest earthquakes to occur in the central Mississippi River valley since the 1811-1812 series in the area of New Madrid, Missouri. Structural damage and liquefaction phenomena were reported along a line from Bertrand, Missouri, in the west to Cairo, Illinois, in the east. The most severe damage occurred in Charleston, Puxico, and Taylor, Missouri; Alton, and Cairo, Illinois; Princeton, Indiana; and Paducah, Kentucky. The earthquake was felt widely in the central part of the United States. (reference #542)

[…] the damage area associated with the event was about 14,000 sq. km., primarily in the lower Ohio and Wabash River valleys. Structural damage and liquefaction phenomena occurred in the westernmost portion of that area along a line from Bertran, MO in the west, to Cairo, IL in the east. (reference #1781)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1895 The 1800s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 6532.