November 8, 1983 Earthquake: Belgium
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Belgium on November 8, 1983 at 00:49:32 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 2 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
- November 8, 1983
- Time
- 00:49:32 UTC
- Place
- Belgium
- Magnitude
- 5 (mb)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 50.696° N, 5.346° E
- Country
- Belgium
The toll
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 30
- Damage
- $50 million
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
Reference #1250 lists $50 million damage.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1983The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1983Recent 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 5004.