The Fireball of August 18, 1873,
near Newark-on-Trent, England.
Etching by Henry Robinson.

Meteorite Targets:
Keep Watching the Skies!

From time-to-time meteorites have struck man-made objects such as houses, roads, cars, and even a mailbox (Claxton, 1984), humans (Sylacauga, 1954) and cows (Valera, 1972)! Here is a listing of meteorites that have hit Humans, animals and/or man-made objects (HAMs)!

If you know of any documented hits not listed here or if you know of any errors in this list, please email the webmaster:

Chronological Listing of Meteorites That Have Struck
Humans, Animals and Man-Made Objects (HAMs)

Originally compiled by Walter Branch, Ph.D. , Updated by Ken Newton

Note that this list is admittedly not complete and is constantly “under construction.”

I have also taken the liberty of not listing those reports which are so incredulous as to be unbelievable, 
the reported details of which led me to believe that the report was inaccurate. Of course, there may be
reported hits in the table below which are inaccurate but they are extremely difficult to verify or disprove.
 
Meteorite names are taken from Grady, Monica M. (2000) Catalog of Meteorites,
5th edition, Cambridge University Press.

Page Frequency Count
Number of Humans Reportedly Hit:   14
Number of Animals Reportedly Hit:     6
  Number of Objects Reportedly Hit:  110
It should come as no surprise that more man-made objects have been hit than either people or animals.
The most frequent object reported being hit by a meteorite is a building, and generally speaking,
buildings tend to be larger targets. 

Hits by Quarter Century

2000-19*******************
1975-199933*********************************
1950-197429*****************************
1925-194915***************
1900-192410**********
1875-18998********
1850-18746******
1825-18493***
1800-18244****
1775-17992**
pre-17751*
Unsurprisingly, the Hits by Quarter Century table indicates an upward trend of
contemporaneously more reported hits.  This trend would most likely reflect increased population
density and not necessarily an increased influx of meteorites entering the Earth’s atmosphere.
Meteorites have been falling on the Earth for literally billions of years, and the mere 200-year timespan
reflected in the above table would be an insufficient time to detect an overall change in the flux rate.
Indeed, the rate of meteorites entering the Earth’s atmosphere has no doubt
decreased since the time of heavy bombardment, approximately 3.8 to 4 billion years ago.

(Unless something really big happens!)

Last Update: Jan 24, 2010
DateMeteorite NameLocationObject HitReference
Jan 18, 2010Lorton (provisional name)Lorton, Virginia, USAA lemon-sized stone went though roof of doctor’s office.50
Sept 25, 2009GrimsbyGrimsby, OntarioA golf ball-sized stone cracked car windshield and dented garage door.46
Feb 15, 2009Ash CreekMcLennan County, Texas, USAFarm house roof was struck38
Nov 20, 2008Buzzard CouleeWilton Rural Municipality, Saskatchewan, CanadaA small meteorite reportedly hit barn roof.49
April 12, 2008Zunhua (unclassified)Zunhua City, Hebei province, ChinaMeteorite went through farmhouse tile roof and hit floor, mirror and bed frame38
April 6, 2008BerducColonia Berduc, ArgentinaStones pelted residentials & commercial roof, greenhouse, road (no reported damage)38
July 6, 2007CaliCali, ColombiaSeveral stones fell  pentrating residential metal roofs and breaking a roof tile.38
Feb 21, 2007MahadevpurMahadevpur, Near Namsai Town, Arunachal Pradesh, IndiaA 3.4 kg piece fell through the roof of a house and into the living room.48
July 31, 2006JodiyaJodiya, Jamnagar District, Gujarat, IndiaSeveral stones fell on rooftops of houses and/or courtyards48
July 14, 2006MossMoss, Rygge, Ostfold, NorwaySeveral stones fell  damaging a commercial roof, a sheet of corrugated metal, impacting a parking lot, a tree limb30, 38, 42
November 8, 2004OrlandoOrlando, Florida, USAA single stone fell  hit top of car and side of house37
June 12, 2004Ellerslie (provisional name)Auckland, New ZealandA single stone fell through the roof of a house and hit sofa29
September 27, 2003KendraparaKendrapada and Mayurbhanj districts, IndiaSeveral stones reportedly hit several villagers homes.  In addition, an elderly man reportedly died of a heart attack as a result of being frightened by the fall.24
September 23, 2003New OrleansNew Orleans, LA, USAA single stone reportedly fell through the roof of a house, destroyed a desk and other items, passed through the floor and ended up underneath the house. Some additional material (~100 g) was also recovered in the surrounding neighborhood.24, 38
March 26, 2003Park ForestSouth Chicago, USAOf many stones, several hit houses, a car, a road and a fire station.  22
February 1-3, 2003HiroshimaChugoku, JapanThe meteorite hit a warehouse roof and was found a day or two later on the floor of the warehouse by workers34, 36
July 21, 2002Thuathenear Masera, LesothoOf many stones, several reportedly hit houses21, 38
February 20, 2002San MichelePesaro Urbino, Marche, Italystone found in roof of building41
February, 2002Alby sur CheranHaute Savoie, Francestone found in roof of building39
December 14, 1999DunboganDunbogan, New South Wales, AUStone crashed through house roof1631
September 26, 1999KobeTsukushigaoka, Kita-ku, Kobe, JapanKobe hit a tiled roof of a house and penetrated, then crash through the ceiling of a bedroom and landed in a 13-year-old girl`s bed.35, 36
June 13, 1998Portales ValleyPortales, New Mexico, USAOf many stones, at least one hit a barn roof.6
March 22, 1998MonahansMonahans, Texas, USAOf two stones, one hit a street.17
December 13, 1997VissannapetaAndhra Pradesh, IndiaA single stone hit a roof.10
September 1, 1997WordenNear Ann Arbor, Michigan, USAA single stone reportedly struck a garage and a car23
February 15, 1997JuanchengShandong Province, ChinaAt least one stone fell through a roof and hit a pot on a stove.7, 17
October 21, 1996Turtle Lake Clayton, Wisconsin, USAA single stone reportedly fell on a parked car’s windshield. 
January 7, 1996TsukubaKanto, JapanOne stone hit a tile roof of a vehicle repair shop.32, 33, 36
February 18, 1995NeagariNomi-gun, Ishikawa-ken, JapanA single stone fell through the trunk of a parked car.4, 13, 17, 45
October 20, 1994ColemanColeman, Michigan, USAA single stone fell through a roof11, 4
June 14, 1994St. RobertSt. Robert, CanadaOf several stones, one reportedly hit a roof. 
December 10, 1992MihonosekiHonshu, JapanA single stone fell through the roof of a two-story house and reportedly penetrated both floors and was found the next day under the house.17
October 9, 1992PeekskillPeekskillA single stone hit a car.4, 5, 15
August 14, 1992MbaleUgandaNumerous stones hit buildings and a boy was reportedly struck.5, 17
March 26, 1991TaharaTahara-machi, JapanA single stone fell on a car carrier.14
September 4, 1990BurnwellPike County, Kentucky, USAA single stone fell through the porch of a house.9, 17
April 7, 1990GlanerbrugGlanerbrug, The NetherlandsBuilding1, 5
August 15, 1989SixiangkouJiangsu, ChinaStone hit roof1, 5
June 12, 1989 Opotiki, New ZealandBuilding1, 5
May 18, 1988TorinoTorino, ItalyBuilding1, 5
March 1, 1988TrebbinTrebbin, Potsdam district, East GermanyGreenhouse1, 5
July 29, 1986KokubunjiKokubunji-cho, Ayauta-gun, Kagawa prefecture, Shikok, JapanMany stones struck tiled roofs and paved roads.1, 4, 5, 17
April, 1986SayamaSaitama Prefecture, JapanResidential roof hit16
January 6, 1985La CriollaLa Criolla, Entre Rios province ArgentinaFarmhouse roof and door.1, 5
December 10, 1984ClaxtonClaxton Evans Co., Georgia, USAA single stone hit a metal mailbox.1, 4
August 22, 1984TomiyaTomiya-ho, Kurokawa, Miyagi-ken, Honshu, JapanA single stone fell on the veranda of a house and another stone was found on the roof of a nearby house.1, 4, 5
June 30, 1984AomoriAomori city, Aomori-ken, Honshu, JapanA single stone fell through the roof of a printing shop.1, 4, 5
November 8, 1982Wethersfield (1982)Wethersfield, Connecticut, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
November 17, 1981Chiang KhanChiang Khan, Loei ThailandSeveral stones reportedly hit a fisherman in his boat27
May 11, 12 or 13, 1981SalemMarion Co.,  Oregon, USAOne or possibly two stones fell on the roof of a house.1, 4 5
October, 1978Walnut HillNorth Yarmouth, Cumberland Co., Maine, USAA single 220 gram stone penetrated the roof of a shed (actually a chicken coup).25, 26
January 31, 1977LouisvilleJefferson Co., Kentucky, USAThree buildings and a car were struck.1, 5, 15
August 18, 1974NaraghNaragh, IranA single stone hit the roof of a school building.1,4, 5
October 27, 1973Canon CityFremont Co., Colorado, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a garage.1, 4, 5, 16
March 15, 1973San Jaun CapistranoSan Jaun Capistrano, CA, USATwo fragments were recovered after falling through the roof of a carport.1, 4, 5
October 15, 1972ValeraTrujillo, VenezuelaA single stone struck and killed a cow.16
August 2, 1971HaveroFinlandA single stone fell through the roof of a farm building.1, 4, 5
April 8, 1971Wethersfield (1971)Hartford Co., Connecticut, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
1970WernigerodeSachsen-Anhalt, Germanycomplete crusted stone found in the attic of a house below a roof damaged in the Second World War40
September 28, 1969MurchisonVictoria, AustraliaBuilding1, 5
September 16, 1969Suchy Dulnear Police, Nachod district, CzechoslovakiaA single stone hit the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
August 7, 1969AndreevkaSlaviansky district, Donetsk region, Ukraine, USSRA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
April 25, 1969BovedyCounty Londonderry, Northern IrelandOne of two stones fell through an asbestos roof.1, 4, 5
February 8, 1969AllendeAllende, MexicoOut of a very large fall, at least one stone hit a patio and one hit a rooftop8
August 10, 1968PiancaldoliPiancaldoli, near Florence, ItalyThree fragments were found on the roof of a house44
April 12, 1968SchenectadyGlenville, New York, USAA single stone struck the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
July 11, 1967DenverDenver Co., Colorado, USAA single stone was found on the roof of a warehouse that may have fallen during the preceding week.1, 4, 5
December 24, 1965BarwellLeicestershire, EnglandTwo buildings and a car were reportedly struck.1, 5, 15
April 26, 1962KielSchleswig-Holstein, GermanyA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5, 17
September 9, 1961BellsGrayson Co., Texas, USABuilding1
February 23, 1961Ras TanuraDakhran, Saudi ArabiaA loading dock was reportedly struck1, 5
March 5, 1960GaoBurkina Faso, West AfricaMany stones reportedly crashed through roofs of native huts (19) and hen houses (20).19, 20
October 13, 1959HamletStarke Co., Indiana, USAA single stone struck a house.1, 4, 5
February 29, 1956CentervilleCenterville, South Dakota, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a shed.1, 4
February 19, 1956SINNAICagliari, Sardinia, Italymeteorite penetrated through the roof and the floor of one hut43
January 17, 1955Kirkland – pseudometeoriteKirkland, Washington, USATwo irons reportedly struck an amateur astronomers observatory. Later discovered to be Canyon Diablos.(see correction- last entry)4, 5, 17,47
November 30, 1954SylacaugaTalladega Co., Alabama, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a house and struck a woman.1, 4, 5
December 10, 1950St. LouisSt. Louis Co., Missouri, USAA single stone hit a car.1, 4, 5, 15
September 20, 1950MurrayCalloway Co., Kentucky, USABuildings (5)1, 5
May 23, 1950MadhipuraBhagalpur district, Bihar, IndiaA single stone fell through the roof of a shed.1, 4, 5
November 20, 1949Kochi – Doubtful StoneKochi-Ken, Shikoku, JapanAlthough it’s origin is doubtful, a single stone reportedly fell through the window of a house. 
September 21, 1949BeddgelertGwynedd, WalesA single stone fell through the roof of a hotel.1, 4, 5
June 11, 1949KunashakChelyabinskaya oblast’, RussiaA roof damaged.28
November 30, 1946 Colford, Gloucestershire, UKA boy was reportedly knocked off a bicycle.5
May 16, 1946


 Santa Ana, Nuevo Leon, MexicoMany houses were reportedly destroyed and 28 people injured.5
Note that meteorite collector Doug Dawn indicates this most likely may have been reported in error, due to a mistranslation of the word “meteorological” – Personal Communication, January 30, 2004.  I am including it here, to encourage more research,  but NOT in frequency count tables.
September 29, 1938BenldMacoupin Co., Illinois, USAA single stone fell through the roof a garage and struck a car.1, 4, 5, 15
Summer, 1938BloomingtonMcClean Co., Illinois, USATwo fragments were thought to have fallen onto the back porch of a house.1, 4
June 24, 1938 Chicora, Pennsylvania, USAA cow was struck and injured.5
June 16, 1938 Pantar, PhillipinesBuildings (several)1, 5
March 31, 1938KasamatsuHashima, Gifu, Honshu, JapanStones reportedly fell through the roof of a house (1) and possibly a ship (5)1, 4, 5, 17
April 2, 1936YurtukLubimov, Ukraine, USSROf several stones, one fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
March 14, 1936 Red Bank, New Jersey, USAA stone reportedly fell through the roof of a shed.5
August 10, 1932ArchieCass County, Missouri, USABuilding1
April 28, 1927Aba – psuedometeoriteAba, JapanA single stone reportedly struck a girl5
July 6, 1924JohnstownWeld Co., Colorado, USAStones struck the roofs of houses.12
December 21, 1921BeyroutBeyrout, LebanonA single stone fell through the roof of a hut.1, 4, 5
June 30, 1918RichardtonStark County, North Dakota, USABuilding1, 5
December 3, 1917StrathmorePerthshire, ScotlandOf four recovered stones, a single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 5
January 18, 1916BaxterStone County, Missouri, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a house1, 4
July 19, 1912HolbrookNavajo County, Arizona, USABuilding1
June 28, 1911

NakhlaAbu Hommos, Alexandria EgyptOne several stones, one reportedly killed a dog.15, 17
Note that meteorite collector Kevin Kichinka reports that there is some dispute as to whether or not a dog was actually killed.  Mainly for historical reasons and to promote further research, I am including this here as well as the frequency count tables.
June 16, 1911KilbournColumbia County, Wisconsin, USAA single stone fell through the roof of a barn.1, 4, 17
September 5, 1907 Hsin-p ai Wei, Weng-li, ChinaA whole family was reportedly crushed by a meteorite5
November 4, 1906Diep RiverCape Province South AfricaA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4
March 11, 1897 New Martinsville, West VirginiaA man was reportedly struck, a horse killed, and walls pierced.5
September 22, 1893ZabrodjeMinsk Region, Belorussiya, USSRA single stone fell through the roof of a house.1, 4, 5
November 19, 1881GrossliebenthalOdessa, Kherson, Ukraine, USSRBuilding1, 5
June 4, 1880 (est) Whitestone Township, AustraliaA man was reportedly struck and killed by a single iron meteorite.18
November 12, 1879   Huang-hsiang, ChinaHouses damaged by numerous stones5
January 31, 1879 Dun-le-Poelier, FranceA farmer was reportedly killed by a meteorite.5
February 16, 1876JudesegeriJudesegeri, IndiaVillage Water Tank1, 4, 5
June 30, 1874 Chun-kuei Shan, Ming-tug Li, ChinaA single stone reportedly fell through a cottage and killed a child5
December 12, 1872 Banbury, EnglandA meteorite reportedly hit a wall5
January 23, 1870NedagollaNedagolla, IndiaA man was reportedly struck by a meteorite5
August 8, 1863PillistferPillistfer, EstoniaBuilding1
May 1, 1860New ConcordNew Concord, Ohio, USAReportedly killed a horse.1, 3, 4
December 9, 1858AussonAusson, FranceBuilding1
July 14, 1847BraunauBraunau, CzechoslovakiaBuilding1
November 11, 1836MacauMacau, BrazilReportedly killed several cattle1
February 16, 1827MhowMhow, IndiaReportedly wounded a man1, 4, 17
November 10, 1823 Wasada, JapanA meteorite struck a house5
June 19, 1809 Off the coast of Rhode Island, USAOut of many that fell, a single stone reportedly hit the deck of a ship at sea, but was subsequently lost.1
December 14, 1807WestonWeston, CT, USABuilding2
December 13, 1803MassingMassing, CzechoslovakiaBuilding1
December 19, 1798Benares (a)Benares, IndiaBuilding1
July 24, 1790BarbotanBarbotan, FranceBuilding1
May 19, 861 Kyushu, JapanA single stone reportedly penetrated the roof of s shrine27


References

1Spratt, C. & Stephens, S.,  Against all Odds: Meteorites that have Struck Home, Mercury: the Journal of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific, Vol. XXI, Number 2 (March/April, 1992), p. 50-56.
2Nininger, H. H., 1972.  Find a Falling Star.  Erickson
3E.B. Andrews et al., A. J. Sci., 1860, 30, p.103, 296.
4Astronomical Research Networks History of Meteorites, 1997, Kenneth Regelman
5Lewis, John A., Rain of Fire and Ice.  1996. Addison Wesley.
6Today, March 26, 1998
7Meteoritical Bulletin # 82, July 1998
8Clark, Roy S. The Allende Mexico, Meteorite Shower. Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences 1970 #5 pp 15
9The Meteoritical Bulletin No 82, July 1998
10The Meteoritical Bulletin,  No 83, July 1999
11The Meteoritical  Bulletin, No 80, July 1996
12H. H. Nininger, Out of the Sky, page 18.
13Akira Ishiwatari, Keiichi Sasatani, Kazue Tazaki, Koh Sakamoto, Takashi Nakanishi, Kazuhisa Komura, Tatsuki Tsujimori, Yasuji Oura, Yutaka Miyamoto, Hisatada Akahane, Makoto Watanabe and Katsushi Nunomura, Earth Science (Chikyu Kagaku), vol. 49, no. 3, 179-182 (1995)
14The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 75, 1993
15Meteorite, Vol 7, No. 1, 2001
16The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 85, September 2001
17Monica M. Grady, 2000, Catalog of Meteorites, 5th edition, Cambridge University Press.
18English Mechanic and World of Science, No 793, June 4, 1880.
19Personal Communication, Robert Haag, June 3, 2002
20Meteorites and Planetary Science, 33, A181-A182, 1998.
21Mike Farmer and Eric Olson (recoverers), personal communication, March 5, 2003.
22Various Chicago area print and online news reports.
23The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 85, 2001
24Mike Farmer, Personal Communication, September 30, 2003
25Russ Kempton, Personal Communication, April 19, 2004.
26Meteoritics, May, 1993, p. 696.
27Martin Altman, Personal Communication, April 28, 2004
28Fersman Museum, website photo
29Aug. 2004 issue of Meteorite, article by Brenda Archer; Summer 2005 issue of Inside Smithsonian Research (No. 9, p. 16), article by John Barrat; various New Zealand area print, and online news reports.
30Various Norwegian area print and online news reports.
31Records of the Australian Museum (2002) Vol. 54: 249?254. ISSN 0067-1975
32Recent Meteorites and Meteoritic Fireballs in Nippon (after 1985)
33The Geological Survey of Japan (GSJ)
34The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 87, 2003 July
35The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 84, 2000 August
36Dirk Ross, Personal Communication, April 24, 2007
37The Meteoritical Bulletin,  No 90, September 2006
38Mike Farmer email and web site ( Ash CreekCaliBerducMossNew OrleansThuatheZunhua, )
39The Meteoritical Bulletin,  No 88, 2004 July
40The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 86, 2002 July
41The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 89, 2005 September
42The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 91, 2007 March
43The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 10, 1956 October
44The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 51, 1972 June
45Neagari photos and info
46Various Ontario area print and online news reports.
47The Meteoritical Bulletin, No 29, 1964 Feb.
48The Meteoritical Bulletin, No. 94, September 2008
492010 “Meteorite Men” TV episode “The Buzzard Coulee Fireball and Whitecourt Crater, Canada”
50Various Va. print and online news reports.

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