The 1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake, measuring 7.3 Mw, was the strongest tectonic event in the region for decades, causing deaths across the Levant.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 7.3 Mw
- Date & Time
- 22 November 1995, 06:15 local time
- Deaths
- At least 8 people
- Injuries
- At least 30 people
- Fault System
- Dead Sea Transform (DST)
- Remote triggering distance
- 500 km north of epicenter
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake occurred along the Dead Sea Transform fault system, an active tectonic plate boundary between the African and Arabian plates. This fault system is characterized by long quiescent periods interrupted by occasional large earthquakes and intermittent swarms, making the region seismically active but infrequently struck by major events.
On November 22, 1995, at 06:15 local time, a magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck the central segment of the Gulf of Aqaba, the narrow waterway separating Egypt's Sinai Peninsula from western Saudi Arabia. It was the most powerful tectonic event in the area for many decades, killing at least 8 people and injuring 30 in the immediate meizoseismal zone.
The earthquake caused injuries, damage, and deaths across the wider Levant region. It is thought to have remotely triggered a series of small to moderate earthquakes some 500 kilometers to the north of the epicenter. In its aftermath, multiple field investigations assessed surface faulting, and the distribution of aftershocks was systematically analyzed by researchers.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 8 (earthquake)