The deadliest earthquake to strike Egypt since 1847, killing 561 people and leaving over half a million homeless across 16 governorates.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 5.8–5.9
- Deaths
- 561 people
- Injuries
- 12,392 people
- Homeless
- over 500,000 people
- Buildings destroyed or damaged
- 129,000 structures
- Governorates affected
- 16
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
A seismic rupture originating in the Western Desert near Dahshur, approximately 35 km south of Cairo, triggered the earthquake. Egypt's geological setting, while not among the world's most seismically active zones, sits near tectonic boundaries that can generate damaging events.
On 12 October 1992 at 15:09 local time, a magnitude 5.8–5.9 earthquake struck with its epicenter near Dahshur, Giza. Despite its moderate size, the quake proved unusually destructive, affecting tens of cities and villages across Greater Cairo, the Nile Delta, and northern Upper Egypt.
The disaster killed 561 people, injured 12,392, and rendered more than half a million homeless. Some 129,000 residential buildings were destroyed or seriously damaged across 16 governorates. It became the most damaging seismic event to affect Egypt since 1847, exposing significant vulnerabilities in urban building stock.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 561 (earthquake)