November 7, 1959 Earthquake: Bou-Medfa, Algeria

Date

November 7, 1959

Place

Bou-Medfa, Algeria

Magnitude

5.5

Intensity

8 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

36.400° N, 2.600° E

Country

Algeria

Damage

Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.

• May 1716, Algiers, Algeria20,000 deaths · 57 km
• March 2, 1825, Blida, Algiers, Algeria7,000 deaths · 18 km
• October 10, 1980, Northern, AlgeriaM7.1 · 5,000 deaths · $5.2 billion · 250,000 houses destroyed · 112 km
• May 21, 2003, Algiers, Boumerdes, Reghia, Thenia, AlgeriaM6.8 · 2,287 deaths · $5 billion · 19,000 houses destroyed · 112 km
• September 9, 1954, Orleansville, AlgeriaM6.7 · 1,243 deaths · $6 million · 20,000 houses destroyed · 91 km
• January 2, 1867, El Affroun, Algeria70 deaths · 9 km
• February 21, 1960, Melouza, AlgeriaM5.6 · 47 deaths · 142 km
• January 15, 1891, Bourava, Gouraya, Algeria36 deaths · 75 houses destroyed · 72 km
• December 3, 1885, M'Sila, AlgeriaM5.9 · 33 deaths · 182 km
• October 29, 1989, Algiers, Cherchell, Tipaza, AlgeriaM5.7 · 30 deaths · $5 million · 45 km
• June 24, 1910, Masqueray, Kabylia, AlgeriaM6.4 · 12 deaths · 133 km
• May 27, 2003, Algiers, Boumerdes, Reghaia, AlgeriaM5.7 · 9 deaths · 106 km
• August 1, 2014, Algiers, AlgeriaM5.5 · 6 deaths · 73 km
• January 1, 1965, M'Sila, AlgeriaM5.5 · 4 deaths · $2 million · 2,500 houses destroyed · 180 km
• May 14, 2010, Beni Yellman, Northern, AlgeriaM5.2 · 2 deaths · 147 km

Significant earthquakes of 1959The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1959Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 4208.