June 5, 1970 Earthquake: Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan on June 5, 1970 at 04:53:06 UTC, 20 km below the surface.
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
- June 5, 1970
- Time
- 04:53:06 UTC
- Place
- Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 20 km (12 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 42.500° N, 78.800° E
- Country
- Kazakhstan
- Region
- Central Asia and Caucasus
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 5,000
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.
June 5, 1970, 04:53:06.4 UTC, region of Alma Ata, USSR, 42.5 N, 78.8 E, depth 20 km, magntiude 6.6 Ms. 20,000 homeless, 5,000 buildings destroyed. No casualty report. (reference #45)
June 5, 1970, 04:53 UTC, 42.5 N, 78.8 E, depth 20 km, magntiude 6.0 mb, 6.7 Ms. Kirgiziya, east of Przhevalsk; violent destructive earthquake; press reports indicate that 5,000 houses were destroyed and 20,000 persons rendered
homeless. (reference #1039)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1039 Rothe, J.P. (1966-1973). Annual Summary of Information on Natural Disasters, UNESCO, Paris, France, 1966 (no. 1) through 1973 (no. 8), 612 p.
- #45 U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey and U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (1928-1986). United States Earthquakes, Annual publication, published 1928-1986. vol.s for 1928-1965 issued by the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey; volumes for 1966-1969 issued by the National Earthquake Information Center; volume for 1970 issued by the National Geophysical Data Center; volumes for 1971-1972 issued by the National Geophysical And Solar-Terrestrial Data Center; volumes for 1973-1980 published jointly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Geological Survey; volumes for 1981-1986 published by the U.S. Geological Survey. [on shelf]
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- January 3, 1911, Alma-Ata, Turkestan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan
- December 1, 2003, Zhaosu, Xinjiang, China
- February 11, 1969, Wushi, Xinjiang Province, China
- January 22, 2024, Xinjiang Province, Kazakhstan, China
- March 24, 1978, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
- July 11, 1889, Cilik, Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan
- February 14, 2005, Wushi, Xinjiang Province, China
- 250 BC, Chiguchin, Kyrgyzstan
- January 24, 1987, Xingjiang Weiwuer Zizhiqu Province, Wushi, China
- June 8, 1887, Vernensk, Kazakhstan
- 500, Kazakhstan
- 1716, Aksu, Balkhash, S Xinjiang, China
- December 25, 1893, Xinjiang, China
More
Significant earthquakes of 1970The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1970Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4537. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem794309, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.