August 3, 1989 Earthquake: Groznyy, Buynaksk, Russia
A magnitude 5 earthquake struck Groznyy, Buynaksk, Russia on August 3, 1989 at 07:42:40 UTC, 18 km below the surface. It killed 1 person.
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
- August 3, 1989
- Time
- 07:42:40 UTC
- Place
- Groznyy, Buynaksk, Russia
- Magnitude
- 5 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 5 · mb 5
- Focal depth
- 18 km (11 mi)
- Intensity
- VI, strong shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 43.522° N, 45.362° E
- Country
- Russia
- Region
- Central Asia and Caucasus
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- 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.
What happened
The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.
One person killed and damage (VI) in the Groznyy area. Felt (IV) at Buynaksk and (III) at Makhachkala. CENTROID, MOMENT TENSOR (HRV) Data Used: GDSN L.P.B.: 13S, 20C Centroid Location: Origin Time 07:42:43.5 0.7 Lat 43.43N 0.08 Lon 45.26E 0.12 Dep 15.0 FIX Half-duration 1.5 Moment Tensor; Scale 10**16 Nm Mrr=5.94 0.39 Mtt=-5.99 0.59 Mff=0.05 0.35 Mrt=0.56 1.24 Mrf=-0.73 1.44 Mtf=1.65 0.36 Principal Axes: (T) Val=6.04 Plg=83 Azm=75 (N) Val=0.41 Plg=6 Azm=285 (P) Val=-6.45 Plg=3 Azm=194 Best Double Couple:Mo=6.3*10**16 NP1:Strike=278 Dip=42 Slip=81 NP2:Strike=110 Dip=49 Slip=98
From the USGS event page for usp0003xzq. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.
Magnitude estimates
The magnitudes the USGS catalog lists for this earthquake, by scale and by who computed them. NCEI’s own scales are in the table above.
| Mag. | Scale | Computed by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5.2 | Mw, moment | USGS National Earthquake Information Center | Preferred · Reviewed |
| 5.14 | Mw, moment | ISC-GEM global catalog | Final · ±0.1 |
| 5.1 | Mwc, centroid moment | Global CMT project | Preliminary |
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1053 National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) (1971 to 2013). Preliminary Determination of Epicenters (PDE), a weekly and monthly publication, National Earthquake Information Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Golden, Colorado, 1971 to 2013.
- #1232 International Seismological Centre (1964-1990). Regional Catalogue of Earthquakes, 1964-1990, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 9, 1830, Russia
- April 29, 1991, Dzhava, Chiatura, Ambrolauri, Georgia
- March 9, 1830, Dagestan, Russia
- May 14, 1970, Dagestan, Russia
- October 11, 2008, Chechnya, Caucasus, Russia
- June 15, 1991, Dzhava, Tskhinvali, Ossetia, Georgia
- April 25, 2002, Tbilisi, Georgia
- 1688, Tersk, Russia
- February 1, 1999, Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia
- January 9, 1975, Dagestan, Russia
- May 14, 1970, Dagestan, Russia
- September 6, 2009, Northwestern, Georgia
- April 14, 1275, Georgia
- January 1, 1811, Kakhetiya, Georgia
- May 15, 1991, Khekheti, Georgia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1989The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1989Recent 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 5208. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event usp0003xzq, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.