The 1982 North Yemen earthquake hit near the city of Dhamar, North Yemen (now part of Yemen) on December 13. Measuring 6.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale, with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli Intensity Scale, as many as 2,800 people were killed and another 1,500 injured. The shock occurred within several hundred kilometers of a plate boundary in a geologically complex region that includes active volcanoes and seafloor spreading ridges.