List of earthquakes in 1987

This is a list of earthquakes in 1987. Only earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above are included, unless they result in damage or casualties, or are notable for some other reason. All dates are listed according to UTC time.

Earthquakes in 1987

Approximate epicenters of the earthquakes in 1987 4.0–5.9 magnitude 6.0–6.9 magnitude 7.0–7.9 magnitude 8.0+ magnitude
Strongest magnitude	7.9 Mw United States
Deadliest	7.1 Mw Ecuador 1,000 deaths
Total fatalities	1,090
Number by magnitude
9.0+	0
← 1986 1988 →

By death toll

Rank	Magnitude	Deaths	Location	MMI	Depth (km)	Date
1	7.1	1,000	Ecuador, Napo	IX (Violent)	10.0	March 6
2	6.7	37	Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara	VII (Very strong)	33.0	November 26

By magnitude

Rank	Magnitude	Deaths	Location	Max Intensity	Depth (km)	Date (MM-DD)
1	7.9	0	United States, Alaska offshore	VI (Strong)	10.0	November 30
2	7.6	1	Chile, Antofagasta	VI (Strong)	62.3	March 5
2	7.4	0	Papua New Guinea, West New Britain offshore	VIII (Severe)	47.8	October 16
2	7.4	0	Australia, Macquarie Island offshore	I (Not felt)	33.0	September 3
2	7.4	3	Papua New Guinea, Morobe offshore	VII (Very strong)	54.9	February 8
6	7.3	0	Tonga, Vava'u offshore	IV (Light)	16.0	October 6
7	7.2	5	Chile, Tarapacá	VII (Very strong)	69.7	September 8
7	7.2	1,000	Ecuador, Napo	IX (Violent)	10.0	March 6
9	7.1	0	Indonesia, Banda Sea offshore	V (Moderate)	67.3	June 17
10	7.0	0	Papua New Guinea, Bougainville offshore	V (Moderate)	24.7	October 12
10	7.0	0	Argentina, Jujuy	IV (Light)	248.7	April 1
10	7.0	0	Chile, Antofagasta offshore	IV (Light)	34.8	March 5
10	7.0	0	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sandwich Islands offshore	I (Not felt)	47.6	January 30

By month

January

January

Strongest magnitude	7.0 Mw South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
Deadliest	4.2 Mw Italy 2 deaths
Total fatalities	3
Number by magnitude
8.0–8.9	0
7.0–7.9	1
6.0–6.9	12

Date	Country and location	Mw	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Casualties
						Dead	Injured
2[1]	Egypt, Ismailia	5.0	24.1	V	Minor damage occurred in Ismailia.	-	-
3[2]	Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea offshore	6.2	5.0	I	This two similarly sized earthquakes occurring an hour apart can be considered a doublet earthquake.	-	-
3[3]	Papua New Guinea, Bismarck Sea offshore	6.3	5.0	I		-	-
3[4]	Vanuatu, Sanma	6.7	14.5	VII	-	-	-
4[5]	Panama, Chiriquí offshore	6.3	10.0	I	-	-	-
5[6]	United States, Alaska offshore	6.8	33.0	V	-	-	-
5[7]	China, Xinjiang	5.7	16.5	VII	Several people were injured and damage occurred in Baicheng.	-	Several
7[8]	Albania, Korçë	5.0	13.5	VI	Damage occurred in Ersekë and Gostivisht.	-	-
9[9]	Japan, Iwate	6.6	66.7	VI	Minor damage occurred in Morioka and Ōfunato.	-	-
9[10]	Tonga, Tongatapu offshore	6.5	33.0	I	-	-	-
11[11]	Iran, Fars	4.9	9.7	VI	300 houses were damaged in Doshman Ziari.	-	-
13[12]	Colombia, Chocó offshore	6.0	10.0	II	-	-	-
13[13]	southern East Pacific Rise	6.0	10.0	I	-	-	-
14[14]	Japan, Hokkaido	6.8	102.0	VI	Six people were injured.	-	6
15[15]	El Salvador, La Libertad	4.0	10.0	IV	This is an aftershock of the 1986 San Salvador earthquake. Additional damage was caused, with many structures previously damaged by the October event collapsed.	-	-
22[16]	Italy, Tuscany offshore	4.2	21.6	IV	Two people died of heart attacks.	2	-
24[17]	China, Xinjiang	6.2	28.9	VII	417 houses were damaged in Wushi.	-	-
26[18]	Algeria, Chlef	4.9	10.0	VI	One person was killed, another seven were injured, and 629 houses were damaged in Mohammadia.	1	7
30[19]	South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sandwich Islands offshore	7.0	47.6	I	-	-	-

February

February

Strongest magnitude	7.4 Mw Papua New Guinea
Deadliest	7.4 Mw Papua New Guinea 3 deaths
Total fatalities	3
Number by magnitude
8.0–8.9	0
7.0–7.9	1
6.0–6.9	18

Date	Country and location	Mw	Depth (km)	MMI	Notes	Casualties
						Dead	Injured
6[20]	Japan, Fukushima offshore	6.4	35.6	IV	It is a foreshock of the 6.8 quake an hour later.	-	-
6[21]	Japan, Fukushima offshore	6.8	47.7	V	Small tsunamis were observed, the largest having 12 cm at Onahama.	-	-
7[22]	Papua New Guinea, Morobe offshore	6.2	27.4	VI	It is a foreshock of the 7.4 event two days later.	-	-