Reviewed by USGSTurkey86y ago
M6.0 earthquake 4 km NNE of Erzincan, Turkey
Wednesday, November 12, 1941, 10:04:54 UTC · 39.782°N, 39.506°E
A magnitude 6.0 earthquake struck 4 km NNE of Erzincan, Turkey on Wednesday, November 12, 1941, 10:04:54 UTC, at a depth of 15.0 km (shallow). It is the strongest earthquake within 300 km since an M7.8 on December 26, 1939.
- Magnitude
- 6.0
- Strong · mw
- Depth
- 15 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- —
- No ShakeMap
- PAGER alert
- None
- Not issued
- Tsunami
- No flag
- USGS feed
Outlined circle: this earthquake
In context
How big was it, and why here?
Energy released
17 kilotons of TNT
That is about the energy of the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 36 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
5 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
15 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 100 km
USGS has not published any M2.5+ earthquake within 100 km in the 30 days after this event.
Regional history
Past M5+ earthquakes within 300 km
USGS lists 35 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.820 km NNE of Erzincan, TurkeyDecember 26, 1939 · 15 km NE of this epicenter
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 193 km W of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 203 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 196 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 138 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 132 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 206 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.912 km NE of Otlukbeli, TurkeyNovember 21, 1939 · 60 km NE of this epicenter
History · NOAA
Deadliest earthquakes in this area
NOAA’s significant-earthquake database lists 23 damaging, deadly or tsunami-generating earthquakes within 300 km of this epicenter since 1700, which together caused about 57,999 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 15 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 154 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 9 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 268 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 298 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 195 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.