This is a list of earthquakes in 1962. Only magnitude 6.0 or greater earthquakes appear on the list. Lower magnitude events are included if they have caused death, injury or damage. Events which occurred in remote areas will be excluded from the list as they wouldn't have generated significant media interest. All dates are listed according to UTC time. Maximum intensities are indicated on the Mercalli intensity scale and are sourced from United States Geological Survey (USGS) ShakeMap data. The year was characterized by fairly moderate activity. The largest of 10 magnitude 7.0 + earthquakes measured 7.5 and struck Fiji. Iran had the deadliest event with over 12,000 deaths in September. Apart from this there was few other deaths from earthquakes. Colombia had the most with 47 in July.
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck off the south coast of Honshu, Japan on January 4 at a depth of 79.3 km.[1]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia on January 5 at a depth of 30.1 km.[2]
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia on January 7 at a depth of 15.0 km.[3] 4 people were killed and some damage was reported.[4]
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Peravia Province, Dominican Republic on January 8 at a depth of 35.6 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[5]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the southeast coast of Hokkaido, Japan on January 9 at a depth of 49.0 km.[6]
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia on January 11 at a depth of 15.0 km. This came 4 days after another event in the area of the same magnitude. This is an example of a doublet earthquake.[7] 1 person died and 2,290 homes collapsed.[8]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Makira, Solomon Islands on January 25 at a depth of 45.0 km.[9]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southwest of Crete, Greece on January 26 at a depth of 25.0 km.[10]
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the north coast of Papua (province), Indonesia on February 3 at a depth of 23.0 km.[11]
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck Araucania Region, Chile on February 14 at a depth of 30.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of IX (Violent).[12] Some damage was reported.[13]
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the southeast coast of Hokkaido, Japan on February 20 at a depth of 50.7 km.[14]
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Kachin State, Burma on February 20 at a depth of 35.0 km.[15]
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Bio-Bio Region, Chile on February 27 at a depth of 25.0 km.[16]
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck east of Mindanao, Philippines on March 11 at a depth of 44.6 km.[18]
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck south of Panama on March 12 at a depth of 25.0 km.[19] The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong). Some damage was reported.[20]
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the northern Mid-Atlantic Ridge on March 17 at a depth of 10.0 km.[21]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Vanuatu on March 18 at a depth of 15.0 km.[22]
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Fier County, Albania on March 18 at a depth of 26.4 km.[23] 15 people were killed and some damage was caused.[24]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Guangdong Province, China on March 18 at a depth of 15.0 km.[25] 1 person died and another 2 were hurt. 1,200 homes were destroyed.[26]
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck the north coast of Papua New Guinea on March 22 at a depth of 35.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe).[28]
A magnitude 5.8 earthquake struck South Khorasan Province, Iran on April 1 at a depth of 15.0 km.[31] 5 people were killed and some damage was reported.[32]
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck the Ionian Sea, Greece on April 10 at a depth of 15.0 km.[33]
A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck off the east coast of Honshu, Japan on April 12 at a depth of 28.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VI (Strong).[34]
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of northern Peru on April 18 at a depth of 49.4 km.[35] 9 people were killed and some damage was caused.[36]
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck north of Haiti on April 20 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of V (Moderate).[38]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck Yunnan Province, China on April 23 at an unknown depth.[39] Some damage was reported.[40]
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck off the east coast of Hokkaido, Japan on April 23 at a depth of 60.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[41]
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Miyagi Prefecture, Honshu, Japan on April 30 at a depth of 15.0 km.[42] 1 person died and at least 101 were injured. Some damage was caused.[43]
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Guerrero, Mexico on May 11 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe).[46] 4 people were killed and at least 101 were injured. Some homes were destroyed.[47]
A magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Barat Daya Islands, Indonesia on May 15 at a depth of 30.2 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[48]
A magnitude 6.8 aftershock struck Guerrero, Mexico on May 19 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[49] 3 people died and 16 were injured. Some homes collapsed.[50]
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck northern Qinghai Province, China on May 21 at a depth of 17.0 km.[51] The shock had a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe). A few homes were damaged or destroyed.[52]
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Fiji on May 21 at a depth of 390.0 km.[53]
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck the Santa Cruz Islands on May 22 at a depth of 114.4 km.[54]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the east coast of Hokkaido, Japan on July 17 at a depth of 49.9 km.[65]
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck south of the Cayman Islands on July 25 at a depth of 20.0 km.[66]
A magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck south of Panama on July 26 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[67] Some damage was caused.[68]
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck off the north coast of Papua New Guinea on July 30 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[69]
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Choco Department, Colombia on July 30 at a depth of 64.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VI (Strong).[70] 47 people were killed and 300 were injured. Major damage was caused.[71]
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck off the north coast of Papua New Guinea on August 1 at a depth of 25.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[72]
A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Antofagasta Region, Chile on August 3 at a depth of 124.8 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VII (Very strong).[73]
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck northeast of Taiwan on August 11 at a depth of 128.8 km.[74]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck southwest of Panay, Philippines on August 17 at a depth of 20.0 km.[75]
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck northern Xinjiang Province, China on August 19 at a depth of 33.2 km.[76] Some homes were destroyed.[77]
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Campania, Italy on August 21 at a depth of 20.0 km.[78] 16 people were killed and some damage was caused.[79]
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck off the south coast of Honshu, Japan on August 26 at a depth of 15.0 km.[80]
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck Peloponnese (region), Greece on August 28 at a depth of 110.2 km.[81] 1 person died and some damage was caused.[82]
A magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck Qazvin Province, Iran on September 1 at a depth of 15.0 km. The shock had a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe).[85] 12,225 people were killed and 2,776 were injured. Major property damage was caused with $30 million (1962 rate) being reported. 21,310 homes were destroyed.[86]
A magnitude 6.5 earthquake struck Fiji on September 10 at a depth of 630.6 km.[87]