December 16, 1902 Earthquake: Andizhan, Uzbekistan
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Andizhan, Uzbekistan on December 16, 1902 at 05:07 UTC, 9 km below the surface. It killed 4,880 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
- December 16, 1902
- Time
- 05:07 UTC
- Place
- Andizhan, Uzbekistan
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 9 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 40.800° N, 72.300° E
- Country
- Uzbekistan
The toll
- Deaths
- 4,880
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 41,704
- Houses damaged
- 41,704
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 #223 lists earthquake on Dec 16, 1902, 05:07 UTC, 40.8 N, 72.3 E, depth 9 km, magnitude 6.4, intensity 9. During the earthquake in Andizhan 5 people died in the
new city; in the old city, 1076 people died; in 158
villages of the Andizhan district, 3352 people died but
in 106 villages of the Margelan district, 285 died; 4
people were killed in the Otsk district. The number
of buildings destroyed in Andizhan in the new city is
123: in the old city, 9626; in the Andizhan district,
17,913; in the Margelan district, 6522; in Otsk, 795;
in Golov, 6725. Overall losses were about 12 million roubles. Based on the information given, the intensity of the earthquake at the epicenter is 9.
Reference #1003 lists earthquake on Dec 16, 1902, in Turkestan, 4500 deaths.
Reference #1173 lists earthquake on Dec 16, 1902, magnitude 6.4, in Turkestan (Andijan), 700 or 4500 deaths.
Reference #1051 lists earthquake on Dec 13, 1902, in Andzihan, 2500 deaths. [probably describing earthquake on Dec 16, 1902]
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 23, 838, Fergana, Uzbekistan
- August 19, 1992, Toluk, Kyrgyzstan
- October 5, 2008, Nura, Kyrgyzstan
- July 19, 2011, Fargona, Violyati, Uzbekistan
- May 15, 1992, Andizhan, Osh, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan
- August 29, 1963, Xinjiang, China
- 1620, Akhsy, Uzbekistan
- November 2, 1946, Kyrgyzstan
- January 1, 2008, Osh, Kyrgyzstan
- November 17, 2015, Osh, Kyrgyzstan
- December 1, 1990, Uzgen, Kyrgyzstan
- September 5, 2002, Kyrgyzstan
- January 31, 1977, Tajikistan
- May 3, 2017, Osh, Batken, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan
- July 11, 1980, Shurab, Nefteabad, Tajikistan
More
Significant earthquakes of 1902The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1902Recent 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 2640.