September 17, 1923 Earthquake: Bodzhnurd, Qaleh Jaq Kmen, Iran
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Bodzhnurd, Qaleh Jaq Kmen, Iran on September 17, 1923 at 07:09:07 UTC. It killed 157 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
- September 17, 1923
- Time
- 07:09:07 UTC
- Place
- Bodzhnurd, Qaleh Jaq Kmen, Iran
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.200° N, 57.700° E
- Country
- Iran
The toll
- Deaths
- 157
- 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.
Reference #130 lists earthquake on Sept 17, 1923, 07:09:14 UTC, 35.5 N, 55 E, magnitude 6.5.
Reference #1126 lists earthquake on Sept 17, 1923, 07:09:32.2 UTC, 37.97 N, 56.5 E, magnitude 6.5.
Reference #1120 lists 157 deaths in the Qaleh Jaq region.
Reference #1117 lists earthquake on Sept 17, 1923, 07:09 UTC, 37.63 N, 57.21 E, magnitude 6.3.
Reference #223 lists earthquake on Sept 17, 1923, 07:09:07 UTC, 37.2, 57.7, magnitude 6.4, intensity 8-9, 8 villages destroyed in Bodzhnurd region, 157 dead.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 5, 1948, Ashkhabad, Turkmenistan
- 1101, Khorasan, Iran
- November 17, 1893, Quchan, Mashhad, Bojnurd, Iran
- November 18, 1667, Shirvan, Shamkha, Iran
- July 30, 1673, Mashhad, Neyshabur (Nishapur), Iran
- August 20, 943, Nisa, Turkmenistan
- January 6, 1872, Quchan, Iran
- May 1, 1929, Kopet-Dagh, Iran
- December 23, 1871, Quchan, Iran
- February 22, 1852, Khabushan (NW Kuchan), Iran
- January 17, 1895, Quchan, Iran
- April 2, 1879, Bojnurd, Iran
- July 30, 1970, Karnaveh, Marev, Iran
- February 4, 1997, Bojnurd, Shirvan, Esfarayen, Iran
- January 3, 1969, NE Khurasan Province, Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1923The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1923Recent 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 3232.