The 1983 Liège earthquake was the largest seismic event in Belgium since 1938, killing 2, injuring 30, and damaging over 16,000 buildings.
Key Facts
- Body wave magnitude
- 4.7
- Depth
- 14 km
- Deaths
- 2
- Injured
- 30
- Buildings damaged
- over 16,000
- Estimated damage cost
- 42–75 million euros
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Belgium sits within a seismically active intraplate zone in northwestern Europe. The region around Liège Province has a documented history of seismic activity, and the tectonic stresses within the continental crust periodically produce moderate earthquakes, as had occurred in the same general area in prior centuries.
On 8 November 1983 at 01:49 Central European Time, an earthquake with a body wave magnitude of 4.7 struck near Remicourt in Liège Province, Belgium, at a depth of approximately 14 km. A Modified Mercalli Intensity of VIII (severe) was recorded, and the main shock was followed by more than ten aftershocks.
The earthquake killed 2 people, injured 30 others, and caused damage to more than 16,000 buildings across the affected area. Repair costs were estimated at between 42 million and 75 million euros. The event remains the most destructive earthquake to strike Belgium since the 1938 Zulzeke earthquake.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 2 (earthquake)