This is a list of earthquakes in 1985. 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.
February 2 – A 5.3 magnitude earthquake in Southern Iran. One person was killed, eighty were injured and about 1,500 buildings were damaged in the Firouzabad-Jahrom area.
February 23; A 6.3 magnitude earthquake struck the Solomon Islands.
March
March 2 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake hits Sulawesi. Also felt at Palu.
March 3 – A 7.5 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Central Chile. At least 177 people killed, 2,575 injured and extensive damage in central Chile, including the cities of San Antonio, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago and Rancagua. Maximum intensity felt in the Valparaíso area. Extensive ground cracks and subsidence occurred throughout most of the epicentral area. Numerous landslides in the coastal mountains. Felt in Chile along a 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) strip from Copiapó to Valdivia. Also felt at Mendoza, San Juan, Buenos Aires and São Paulo. A tsunami generated with wave heights: 1.1 metres (3.6 ft) at Valparaíso; 48 centimetres (1.57 ft) at Hilo, Hawaii; 15 centimetres (0.49 ft) at Sand Point, Alaska; 12 centimetres (0.39 ft) at Adak, Alaska; 11 centimetres (0.36 ft) at Rikitea, Gambier Islands; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at Papeete, Tahiti; 10 centimetres (0.33 ft) at Kushiro, Nemuro and Miyako, Japan; 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at Seward, Alaska; 4 centimetres (0.13 ft) at Kodiak, Alaska; and 3 centimetres (0.098 ft) at Honolulu and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
March 3 – A 7.0 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.7 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 4 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of central Chile.
March 14 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Italy. One person died of fright. Slight damage in Isernia Province.
March 17 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake near the coast of central Chile. One person died from a heart attack at Santiago. Damage in the Valparaíso-Viña del Mar area. Also felt at San Antonio, Melipilla, Santiago, La Serena, Pichilemu, Santa Cruz, Curicó, Talca, and Concepción. Also felt in Mendoza and San Juan Provinces, Argentina.
March 19 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake hits coast of central Chile. Felt at San Antonio, Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Santiago, and from Concepción to Coquimbo.
March 19 – A magnitude 5.2 earthquake hits Bolivia. Two people killed and damage in the Monteagudo area. Felt at Santa Cruz and Sucre.
March 29 – A magnitude 4.9 earthquake hits Sichuan Province, China. One person killed, 120 injured and some damage in the Neijiang area.
April
April 9 – A 7.5 magnitude earthquake hits Central Chile. One person died from a heart attack, several people injured and some damage in the Santiago-Valparaiso area. One additional person died from a heart attack at Chillan. Felt throughout much of central Chile from La Serena to Osorno. Also felt at Mendoza, Argentina, in San Juan, San Luis, Córdoba, Tucumán and Santa Fé Provinces.
May 10 – A 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits New Britain. One person killed. Damage in the Bialla-Hoskins area. Extensive landslides, debris flows and fallen trees in the Nakanai Mountains. Ground cracks and subsidence occurred. A temporary hot springs was observed near Malosi. Felt at Rabaul and strongly in many parts of Papua New Guinea.
June 6 – A 6.6 magnitude earthquake shakes Central Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
June 23 – A magnitude 6.1 earthquake hits Solomon Islands. Felt strongly in the eastern side of the islands.
July
July 3 – A magnitude 7.4 earthquake hits New Britain. Damage, landslides and ground cracks on New Ireland and in the Rabaul area, New Britain. A 1.3-meter tsunami was observed in Rabaul's harbor followed by a seiche that lasted for 15 hours. Also felt at Panguna, Bougainville.
July 3 – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake occurs in Vanuatu.
July 22 – A magnitude 6.9 earthquake hits New Britain.
August 21 – A 6.1 magnitude earthquake occurs near the coast of Northern Peru. At least 100 people injured, 60 homes destroyed and damage to other buildings in the Chimbote area. Felt along the coast of Peru from Chiclayo to Chincha.
August 31 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake hits the Greece-Albania border region. Some minor injuries, damage and landslides in the Preveza area, Greece.
September
September 11 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake hits southern Xinjiang, China. Four people killed, 61 injured and damage in the Wuqia-Kashi-Shufu area. Felt at Sufi-Kurgan, Osh and at Andizhan and Fergana, USSR.
September 16 – A West New Guinea region is affected by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. At least 10 people killed, 7 injured and damage in the Enarotali area. Slumping observed in the epicentral area.
Damage provoked by the September 19 Mexico earthquake.
September 19 – A magnitude 8.1 earthquake hits Michoacán, Mexico. At least 10,000+ people were killed, about 30,000 were injured, more than 100,000 people were left homeless, and severe damage was caused in parts of Mexico City and in several states of central Mexico. It is estimated that the quake seriously affected an area of approximately 825,000 square kilometres (319,000 sq mi), caused between 3 and 4 billion U.S. dollars of damage, and was felt by almost 20 million people. Four hundred twelve buildings collapsed and another 3,124 were seriously damaged in Mexico City. About 60 percent of the buildings were destroyed at Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco. Damage also occurred in the states of Colima, Guerrero, Mexico, Michoacán, Morelos, parts of Veracruz and in other areas of Jalisco. The maximum Modified Mercalli intensity was IX at Mexico City, Ciudad Guzmán and the Pacific Coast towns of Lázaro Cárdenas, Ixtapa and La Unión. Felt reports were received from Mazatlan, Sinaloa to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, and as far away as Guatemala City, and Houston, Texas. The quake was also felt at Brownsville, McAllen, Corpus Christi, Ingram and El Paso, Texas. It was felt very strongly by people on board the ship Nedlloyd Kyoto, who were in 17°35.4′N102°36.9′W / 17.5900°N 102.6150°W / 17.5900; -102.6150. Landslides caused damage at Atenquique, Jalisco and near Jala, Colima. Rockslides were reported along the highways in the Ixtapa area and sandblows and ground cracks were observed at Lázaro Cardenas. A tsunami was generated which caused some damage at Lázaro Cardenas, Zihuatanejo and Manzanillo. Estimated wave heights were 3 metres (9.8 ft) at Zihuatanejo and 2.8 metres (9.2 ft) at Lázaro Cardenas. Tide stations recorded maximum wave heights of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft) meters at Acapulco; 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) at La Libertad, Ecuador; 58 centimetres (1.90 ft) at Acajutla, El Salvador; 24 centimetres (0.79 ft) at Kahului, Hawaii and at Pago Pago, American Samoa; 22 centimetres (0.72 ft) at Hilo, Hawaii; 21 centimetres (0.69 ft) at Baltra Island, Galapagos; 14 centimetres (0.46 ft) at Apia, Samoa; 7 centimetres (0.23 ft) at Rikitea, Gambier Islands; and 5 centimetres (0.16 ft) at Papeete, Tahiti. Some ships off the Pacific coast of Mexico observed unusually heavy seas up to 30 meters high near the time of the earthquake. Seiches were observed in East Galveston Bay, Texas and in swimming pools in Texas, New Mexico, Colorado and Idaho. Water well fluctuations were recorded at Ingleside, Texas; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Rolla, Missouri; Hillsborough County, Florida; and Smithsburg, Maryland. A large percentage of the buildings which were damaged in Mexico City were between 8 and 18 stories high, indicating possible resonance effects with dominant two-second period horizontal ground accelerations which were recorded in the area.
September 20 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake occurs near the coast of Guerrero, Mexico. Caused additional casualties and damage in the Mexico City area. Felt in many parts of central Mexico. Local tsunami recorded at Acapulco with maximum amplitude of 1.4 metres (4.6 ft). Water well fluctuations recorded at Santa Fe, New Mexico.
September 27 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Solomon Islands. Several houses destroyed. Felt at Viso and Honiara. Felt throughout Guadalcanal. Several landslides in southern Guadalcanal.
September 28 – A magnitude 5.0 earthquake hits Yugoslavia. Sixteen people injured and about 500 buildings damaged in the Demir Kapija-Negotino area.
October 11 – A magnitude 4.5 earthquake in Guatemala. Several people injured and about 500 houses destroyed at San Miguel Uspantán. About 80 percent of the buildings in the town sustained some damage. Felt strongly in western Guatemala. Felt also at Guatemala City.
December 16 – A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hits Vanuatu Islands.
December 21 – Two earthquakes, magnitude 7.6 and 6.5 hit Vanuatu Islands.
December 23 – A magnitude 6.6 earthquake occurs in the northwest territories of Canada. Felt at Fort Simpson, Wrigley, and Fort Liard. Some people fled from buildings in Edmonton, Alberta about 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) from the epicenter. Felt in parts of Yukon Territory, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Also felt at Camas, Washington; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Metlakatla, Alaska; Juneau, Alaska; Helena, Montana; and Spokane, Washington.
December 25 – A 4.3 magnitude earthquake in Sicily. One person killed, 14 injured and damage on Sicily. Mt. Etna erupted.
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