May 14, 1970 Earthquake: Dagestan, Russia

Name: May 14, 1970 Earthquake: Dagestan, Russia
Start: 1970-05-14
Location: Dagestan, Russia

May 14, 1970 · M6.1

A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Dagestan, Russia on May 14, 1970 at 09:20:22 UTC, 12 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: May 14, 1970
Time: 09:20:22 UTC
Place: Dagestan, Russia
Magnitude: 6.1 (Mw)
Magnitude scales: Mw 6.1 · Ms 5.7
Focal depth: 12 km (7 mi)
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 43.078° N, 47.131° E
Country: Russia
Region: Central Asia and Caucasus
USGS record: The USGS’s page for this earthquake

Mw: moment magnitude, based on the slip on the fault and the area that slipped. Ms: surface-wave magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed: Few (about 1 to 50)
Houses damaged: Few (about 1 to 50)

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.

On May 14, 1970 a foreshock at 09:20 UTC (magnitude 5.7) and main shock at 18:12 UTC (magnitude 6.5) in the Eastern Caucasus region caused heavy casualties and extensive damage in Dagestan. A UPI press release from Moscow stated that, "The quakes began about noon last Thursday and continued through Friday, tumbling houses, triggering rockslides, opening fissures, and setting off tidal waves that submerged sand dunes along the Caspian Seacoast." The newspaper Zary Vostoka (Dawn of the East) of Tblisi said the intensity reached as high as VIII and spread over the Dagestan region. (reference #2778)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

#2778 International Tsunami Information Center (1970). Tsunami Newsletter, Vol. III, No. 3, September 1970.
#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]
#13456 U.S. Geological Survey (2017 to present). Earthquake Hazards Program, Advanced National Seismic System (ANSS) Comprehensive Catalog of Earthquake Events and Products.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1970 The 1900s Every quake the USGS located in 1970 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 7504. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem795568, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.