| Year: | 1987 |
| Location Map: | Earth |
| Largest: | 7.9 United States |
| Deadliest: | 7.1 Ecuador 1,000 deaths |
| Fatalities: | 1,090 |
| 9.0+: | 0 |
| 8.0−8.9: | 0 |
| 7.0−7.9: | 13 |
| 6.0−6.9: | 160 |
| 5.0−5.9: | 1,400 |
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.
| Rank | Magnitude | Deaths | Location | MMI | Depth (km) | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.1 | 1,000 |  Ecuador, Napo | 10.0 | March 6 | ||
| 2 | 6.7 | 37 |  Indonesia, East Nusa Tenggara | 33.0 | November 26 |
| Rank | Magnitude | Deaths | Location | Max Intensity | Depth (km) | Date (MM-DD) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7.9 | 0 |  United States, Alaska offshore | 10.0 | November 30 | ||
| 2 | 7.6 | 1 |  Chile, Antofagasta | 62.3 | March 5 | ||
| 2 | 7.4 | 0 |  Papua New Guinea, West New Britain offshore | 47.8 | October 16 | ||
| 2 | 7.4 | 0 |  Australia, Macquarie Island offshore | 33.0 | September 3 | ||
| 2 | 7.4 | 3 | Papua New Guinea, Morobe offshore | 54.9 | February 8 | ||
| 6 | 7.3 | 0 |  Tonga, Vava'u offshore | 16.0 | October 6 | ||
| 7 | 7.2 | 5 | Chile, Tarapacá | 69.7 | September 8 | ||
| 7 | 7.2 | 1,000 | Ecuador, Napo | 10.0 | March 6 | ||
| 9 | 7.1 | 0 | Indonesia, Banda Sea offshore | 67.3 | June 17 | ||
| 10 | 7.0 | 0 | Papua New Guinea, Bougainville offshore | 24.7 | October 12 | ||
| 10 | 7.0 | 0 |  Argentina, Jujuy | 248.7 | April 1 | ||
| 10 | 7.0 | 0 | Chile, Antofagasta offshore | 34.8 | March 5 | ||
| 10 | 7.0 | 0 | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Sandwich Islands offshore | 47.6 | January 30 |
| Month: | January |
| 8.0–8.9: | 0 |
| 7.0–7.9: | 1 |
| 6.0–6.9: | 12 |
| Largest: | 7.0 Mw South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands |
| Deadliest: | 4.2 Mw Italy 2 deaths |
| Fatalities: | 3 |
| Country and location | Mw | Depth (km) | MMI | Notes | Casualties | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead | Injured | ||||||
| 2[1] | , Ismailia | 5.0 | 24.1 | V | Minor damage occurred in Ismailia. | - | - |
| 3[2] | , 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] | , Bismarck Sea offshore | 6.3 | 5.0 | I | - | - | |
| 3[4] | , Sanma | 6.7 | 14.5 | VII | - | - | - |
| 4[5] | , Chiriquí offshore | 6.3 | 10.0 | I | - | - | - |
| 5[6] | , Alaska offshore | 6.8 | 33.0 | V | - | - | - |
| 5[7] | , Xinjiang | 5.7 | 16.5 | VII | Several people were injured and damage occurred in Baicheng. | - | Several |
| 7[8] | , Korçë | 5.0 | 13.5 | VI | Damage occurred in Ersekë and Gostivisht. | - | - |
| 9[9] | , Iwate | 6.6 | 66.7 | VI | Minor damage occurred in Morioka and Ōfunato. | - | - |
| 9[10] | , Tongatapu offshore | 6.5 | 33.0 | I | - | - | - |
| 11[11] | , Fars | 4.9 | 9.7 | VI | 300 houses were damaged in Doshman Ziari. | - | - |
| 13[12] | , Chocó offshore | 6.0 | 10.0 | II | - | - | - |
| 13[13] | southern East Pacific Rise | 6.0 | 10.0 | I | - | - | - |
| 14[14] | , Hokkaido | 6.8 | 102.0 | VI | Six people were injured. | - | 6 |
| 15[15] | , 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] | , Xinjiang | 6.2 | 28.9 | VII | 417 houses were damaged in Wushi. | - | - |
| 26[18] | , 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 | - | - | - |
| Month: | February |
| 8.0–8.9: | 0 |
| 7.0–7.9: | 1 |
| 6.0–6.9: | 18 |
| Largest: | 7.4 Mw Papua New Guinea |
| Deadliest: | 7.4 Mw Papua New Guinea 3 deaths |
| Fatalities: | 3 |
| Country and location | Mw | Depth (km) | MMI | Notes | Casualties | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dead | Injured | |||||||
| 6[20] | , Fukushima offshore | 6.4 | 35.6 | IV | It is a foreshock of the 6.8 quake an hour later. | - | - | |
| 6[21] | , Fukushima offshore | 6.8 | 47.7 | V | Small tsunamis were observed, the largest having 12 cm at Onahama. | - | - | |
| 7[22] | , Morobe offshore | 6.2 | 27.4 | VI | It is a foreshock of the 7.4 event two days later. | - | - | |