January 1, 1965 Earthquake: M'Sila, Algeria
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck M'Sila, Algeria on January 1, 1965 at 21:38:29 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 4 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
- January 1, 1965
- Time
- 21:38:29 UTC
- Place
- M'Sila, Algeria
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.700° N, 4.400° E
- Country
- Algeria
The toll
- Deaths
- 4
- Injuries
- 350
- Damage
- $2 million
- Houses destroyed
- 25,000; 2,500 with its tsunami and other effects
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.
January 1, 1965. This was the culminating shock of a series which began in the latter part of December. Four persons were killed, several injured and over 2,500 houses damaged or destroyed at M'Sila. Depth about 10 km. (reference #45)
January 1, 1965, two killed, 350 injured, $2 million damage. (reference #1250)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 1716, Algiers, Algeria
- March 2, 1825, Blida, Algiers, Algeria
- May 21, 2003, Algiers, Boumerdes, Reghia, Thenia, Algeria
- February 12, 1946, Hodna Mountains, Algeria
- January 2, 1867, El Affroun, Algeria
- February 21, 1960, Melouza, Algeria
- November 16, 1869, Biskra, Algeria
- December 3, 1885, M'Sila, Algeria
- June 24, 1910, Masqueray, Kabylia, Algeria
- May 27, 2003, Algiers, Boumerdes, Reghaia, Algeria
- August 22, 1856, Northern, Algeria
- August 1, 2014, Algiers, Algeria
- August 21, 1856, Northern, Algeria
- March 20, 2006, Northern, Algeria
- May 14, 2010, Beni Yellman, Northern, Algeria
More
Significant earthquakes of 1965The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1965Recent 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 4333.