Reviewed by USGSTurkey88y ago
M7.8 earthquake 20 km NNE of Erzincan, Turkey
Tuesday, December 26, 1939, 23:57:23 UTC · 39.907°N, 39.586°E
A magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck 20 km NNE of Erzincan, Turkey on Tuesday, December 26, 1939, 23:57:23 UTC, at a depth of 20.0 km (shallow). No earthquake of this size or larger appears within 300 km in the USGS catalog since 1900.
- Magnitude
- 7.8
- Major · mw
- Depth
- 20 km
- Shallow
- Felt reports
- 0
- Did You Feel It?
- Est. shaking
- VIII
- Severe (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
7.6 megatons of TNT
That is about 502 times the Hiroshima bomb. It released about 15,849 times the energy of a magnitude 5.0.
Tectonic setting
11 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
20 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 M5.6 on December 27, 1939. 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 24 M5.0+ earthquakes within 300 km before this one (catalog from 1900; older records are less complete). The strongest:
- 7.018 km W of Doğanşar, TurkeyJanuary 24, 1916 · 196 km W of this epicenter
- 6.918 km ESE of Pasinler, TurkeySeptember 13, 1924 · 195 km E of this epicenter
- 6.813 km NNE of Sincik, TurkeyDecember 4, 1905 · 211 km SW of this epicenter
- 6.326 km ENE of Koyulhisar, TurkeyFebruary 9, 1909 · 138 km NW of this epicenter
- 6.3TurkeyMay 18, 1929 · 133 km W of this epicenter
- 6.0TurkeyNovember 12, 1934 · 213 km SE of this epicenter
- 5.912 km NE of Otlukbeli, TurkeyNovember 21, 1939 · 48 km E of this epicenter
- 5.920 km SSE of Artova, TurkeyApril 29, 1923 · 275 km W 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 57,984 recorded deaths. The most severe:
- 1939M7.8
Erzincan
26 Dec 1939 · 0 km away · intensity XII
32,700 deaths$20 million damagetsunami
- 1859M6.1
Erzurum
2 Jun 1859 · 146 km away
15,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1784
Erzurum,Erzincan
23 Jul 1784 · 24 km away
5,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1903M6.3
Malazgirt
28 Apr 1903 · 266 km away · intensity X
3,560 deathsExtreme damage ($25M+)
- 1903M5.8
Varginis,Cardahli,Mehkerek
28 May 1903 · 286 km away · intensity VIII
1,000 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
- 1893M6.7
Malatya
31 Mar 1893 · 210 km away · intensity IX
400 deathsSevere damage ($5–24M)
NOAA NCEI Global Significant Earthquake Database. Historical figures are estimates; older records are incomplete.