Reviewed by USGSTurkey83y ago
M7.6 earthquake 10 km WNW of Orta, Turkey
Tuesday, February 1, 1944, 03:22:40 UTC · 40.660°N, 32.998°E
A magnitude 7.6 earthquake struck 10 km WNW of Orta, Turkey on Tuesday, February 1, 1944, 03:22:40 UTC, at a depth of 30.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.6
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 30 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VII
- Very strong (ShakeMap)
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquakeDashed circle: 200 km aftershock search areaColoured lines: estimated shaking intensity (USGS ShakeMap)
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
3.8 megatons of TNT
That is about 252 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 7,943 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
32 km
from the nearest mapped plate boundary, between the Anatolian and Eurasian plates. Earthquakes cluster along boundaries like this one, where plates collide, pull apart or slide past each other.
Depth: shallow
30 km
Shallow earthquakes (under 70 km) produce the strongest surface shaking for their size, so they are the ones most likely to cause damage near the epicenter.
Did You Feel It?
Where it was felt
No “Did You Feel It?” reports have been published for this event yet. If you felt it, you can add your report on the USGS website.
I felt it — report to USGS ↗USGS PAGER estimate
Who was exposed to shaking
USGS publishes PAGER impact estimates for significant earthquakes, usually within an hour. No PAGER estimate is available for this event.
After the main event
Aftershocks within 200 km
USGS lists 3 M2.5+ earthquakes within 200 km in the following 30 days; the largest was M5.7 on February 10, 1944. Most nearby activity right after a large earthquake is aftershocks, which usually become less frequent over days and weeks.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 49 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.56 km SSE of Ilgaz, TurkeyNovember 26, 1943 · 60 km NE of this epicenter
- 6.626 km NE of Kaman, TurkeyApril 19, 1938 · 146 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.515 km ENE of İskilip, TurkeyJune 25, 1910 · 138 km E of this epicenter
- 6.4TurkeyJune 20, 1943 · 210 km W of this epicenter
- 6.215 km N of Saraykent, TurkeyJuly 30, 1940 · 230 km SE of this epicenter
- 6.125 km ESE of Safranbolu, TurkeyJune 9, 1919 · 57 km N of this epicenter
- 6.015 km S of Kulu, TurkeySeptember 26, 1921 · 190 km S of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyDecember 11, 1942 · 178 km E of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 17 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 8,662 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1943M7.5
Ladik, Samsun, Havza
26 Nov 1943 · 60 km away · intensity XI
4,020 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1944M7.6
Turkey
1 Feb 1944 · 0 km away · intensity X
2,381 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1862M6.1
Turkey
16 Oct 1862 · 297 km away
800 deathsModerate damage ($1–5M)
- 1866M7.2
Goynuk
12 May 1866 · 188 km away · intensity IX
675 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1943M6.4
Hendek, Adapazari
20 Jun 1943 · 210 km away · intensity X
285 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1938M6.6
Kirsehir
19 Apr 1938 · 146 km away · intensity X
224 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.