The 1985 Kayrakkum earthquake (Russian: Кайраккумское землетрясение) struck Soviet Tajikistan on October 13 at about 22:00 local time.

Central Asia is situated in a region of active convergence involving the Eurasian and Indian plates.

[4][5] In Kairakkum, 90 percent of the city's multi-story brick buildings were destroyed—this earned the earthquake a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity (MMI) of IX (Violent).

[6] The earthquake razed many industrial buildings, homes and cultural infrastructures, according to state media TASS.

A Soviet Communist Party official said that there was no conclusion to whether the damaged dam was at risk of collapsing or if there was a need to evacuate residents.

Initial reports on October 15 stated that people had been killed and injured, but specific figures were not released.

[7] The Los Angeles Times said on November 7, Soviet newspaper Sotsialisticheskaya Industriya disclosed that the earthquake resulted in 29 fatalities and over 80 injuries.

A recent evaluation of seismic hazards found that the area can experience stronger earthquakes than previously thought, yet no action was taken by authorities.