July 23, 1930 Earthquake: Irpinia, Italy

Name: July 23, 1930 Earthquake: Irpinia, Italy
Start: 1930-07-23
Location: Irpinia, Italy

July 23, 1930 · M6.5 · 1,430 deaths · 3,188 houses destroyed

A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Irpinia, Italy on July 23, 1930 at 00:09 UTC, 7 km below the surface. It killed 1,430 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: July 23, 1930
Time: 00:09 UTC
Place: Irpinia, Italy
Magnitude: 6.5 (Ms)
Focal depth: 7 km (4 mi)
Intensity: 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 41.100° N, 15.400° E
Country: Italy

The toll

Deaths: 1,430
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed: 3,188

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 #1003 lists magnitude 6.5, 1430 deaths.

Reference #1093 lists intensity X 1/2, 1425 deaths, 3188 houses destroyed.

Reference #1075 lists epicenter July 23, 1930, 0:09 M.G.T. Irpinia, 41o 03' N, 15o 25' E, intensity X.

Reference #1250 lists 1883 deaths.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1930 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1930 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 3420.