Earthquakes in Palestinian Territories through history

The strongest was a magnitude 7, twice: on 32 BCE (Qumran,Ariha (Jericho)) and on January 18, 746 (Teverya (Tiberias), Ariha (Jericho)). The deadliest was not the strongest: an earthquake on December 5, 1033 (Ramala, Gaza, Nablus; Egypt), for which NOAA records 70,000 deaths. NOAA records deaths in 4 of the events here, 73,288 in all. The latest on NOAA’s list is a magnitude 6.1 on July 11, 1927 (Dead Sea region). NOAA’s record here begins in 1567 BCE with an earthquake (Ariha (Jericho)). 14 of the 15 significant earthquakes NOAA lists here came before 1927. NOAA lists 5 tsunamis that began in or off Palestinian Territories, and one from elsewhere that reached it with deaths or a metre of water or more. The highest water NOAA records here was 1 m, on February 11, 2004.

• February 11, 2004Tsunami · 1 m hereDead SeaNOAA NCEI
• July 11, 1927Earthquake · M 6.1Dead Sea region · 268 deaths (NOAA)USGS · NOAA NCEI · Wikipedia
• 1838EarthquakeTel Aviv-Yafo (Jaffa),Palestine · 3,000 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI
• January 14, 1546Earthquake · M 6.5 (est.)Nabulus,Salt; Jordan: Al-KarakNOAA NCEI
• December 5, 1033EarthquakeRamala, Gaza, Nablus; Egypt · 70,000 deaths (NOAA)NOAA NCEI
• January 18, 746Earthquake · M 7.0 (est.)Teverya (Tiberias), Ariha (Jericho)NOAA NCEI
• 32 BCEEarthquake · M 7.0 (est.)Qumran,Ariha (Jericho)NOAA NCEI
• 1251 BCEEarthquake · M 6.5 (est.)Ariha (Jericho)NOAA NCEI
• 1567 BCEEarthquakeAriha (Jericho)NOAA NCEI

• An event counts for Palestinian Territories when it began inside its borders, or at sea within 100 km of its coast (so one can count for two neighbours), or further out, up to 300 km, where Palestinian Territories is the nearest country.
• USGS counts here start at magnitude 6: the catalogue’s smaller quakes thin out going back, where few instruments listened.
• NOAA lists significant events only: earthquakes that killed, did about $1 million of damage, reached magnitude 7.5 or intensity X, or raised a tsunami, and eruptions and tsunamis by like measures. Magnitudes before 1900 are its estimates from written accounts.
• Deaths are NOAA’s total for each event, wherever people died, its tsunami and fires included. A tsunami counts the dead its runup records give for this place: NOAA’s total for a tsunami includes its source quake’s.
• A tsunami from elsewhere counts where one of its runups killed or rose a metre or more.
• The map frames the box around Palestinian Territories, its neighbours’ quakes included, so its count runs higher than this page’s.
• Counted to October 19, 2026, as is the map. The last 30 days ask USGS again.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Earthquakes, live, The world through history