The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake, occurred on December 7 at with a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and a maximum MSK intensity of X (Devastating). The shock occurred in the northern region of Armenia which is vulnerable to large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas. Activity in the area is associated with tectonic plate boundary interaction and the source of the event was slip on a thrust fault just to the north of Spitak. The complex incident ruptured multiple faults, with a strike-slip event occurring shortly after the initiation of the mainshock. Between 25,000 and 50,000 were killed and up to 130,000 were injured.
The 1953 Yenice–Gönen earthquake occurred at 21:06 local time (19:06 UTC on 18 March in the province of Çanakkale and Balıkesir in the Marmara Region at western Turkey. It had a surface wave magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum felt intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale. It caused widespread damage, killing 1,070 and causing damage that was estimated at US$3,570,000 repair value.
The 2010 Elazığ earthquake was a 6.1 Mw earthquake that occurred on 8 March 2010 at 02:32 UTC. The epicentre was Başyurt in Elazığ Province, in eastern Turkey. Initial reports in global media said as many as 57 people had died. By 10 March, reports in the Turkish media placed the death toll at 41 and later, the death toll rose to 42. Another 74 were injured, many after falling and jumping from buildings. A stampede through the streets led to further injuries.
The 1924 Pasinler earthquake occurred at 16:34 local time on 13 September in Pasinler, Erzurum, Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. It had a surface wave magnitude of 6.8 and reached a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 60 casualties.
The 1935 Erdek–Marmara Islands earthquake occurred at 4 January on the islands of Marmara and Avşa off Erdek in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey. It had a moment magnitude of 6.4 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 5 deaths and 30 injuries.
The 1938 Kırşehir earthquake occurred at 12:59 local time on 19 April. It had an estimated surface wave magnitude of 6.7 and a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 224 casualties.
The 1941 Van–Erciş earthquake occurred at 23:53 local time on 10 September. It had an estimated surface wave magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. The earthquake has caused estimated casualties of between 190 and 430 people and also 600 buildings have collapsed.
The 1942 Niksar–Erbaa earthquake in Turkey occurred at 16:03 local time on 20 December. It had an estimated surface wave magnitude of 7.0 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 3,000 casualties.
The 1943 Adapazarı–Hendek earthquake occurred at 17:32 local time on 20 June in Sakarya Province, Turkey. It registered 6.6 on the surface wave magnitude scale with a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale.
The 1944 Bolu–Gerede earthquake occurred at 05:22 local time on 1 February. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum felt intensity of IX–X (Violent–Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It ruptured part of the North Anatolian Fault, forming part of a progressive sequence of events that generally migrated westwards along the fault zone, starting with the 1939 Erzincan earthquake.
The 1946 Varto–Hınıs earthquake occurred at 05:12:46 local time on 31 May. The earthquake had an estimated moment magnitude of 5.9 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing between 800 and 1,300 casualties.
The 1949 Karlıova earthquake occurred at 18:44 UTC on 17 August with an epicenter near Karlıova in Bingöl Province, Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. It had an estimated magnitude of 6.7, a maximum felt intensity of X (Extreme) on the Mercalli intensity scale, and caused 320–450 casualties and destroyed 3,500 buildings.
The 1952 Hasankale earthquake occurred at 08:03 local time on 3 January in Hasankale in Erzurum Province, Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 5.8 and a maximum felt intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 41 casualties. This spot has been the subject of studies due to the amount of earthquakes that occur in Turkey. 17% of earthquakes, globally, occur in this area. This is because the Alpide belt crosses through Turkey. The earthquakes are cause when the plates try to slide past each other on a transform boundary.
The 1957 Abant earthquake occurred at 8:33am on 26 May, in Turkey. The earthquake had an estimated surface wave magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 52 fatalities and 101 injuries. Five thousand homes were damaged as a result of the earthquake.
The 1983 Erzurum earthquake occurred in northeastern Turkey on 30 October 1983 at 07:12 local time. It had a moment magnitude of 6.6 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent). Reuters reports that about 1340 people have died and 50 settlements in the provinces of Erzurum and Kars have been demolished by the earthquake.
The 1914 Burdur earthquake occurred at 00:07 local time on 4 October. It was estimated to be 7.0 on the surface wave magnitude scale with a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale. It was centered near Lake Burdur in southwestern Anatolia and the mainshock and subsequent fire destroyed more than 17,000 homes, and caused 2,344 casualties.
The 1912 Mürefte earthquake occurred at 03:29 local time on 9 August. It had an estimated magnitude of 7.4 and a maximum intensity of X (Extreme) on the Modified Mercalli intensity scale, causing from 216–3000 casualties.
The 1859 Erzurum earthquake occurred at 10:30 on 2 June. It had a magnitude of 6.1 and a maximum intensity of IX on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing 15,000 casualties. The earthquake destroyed much of the city of Erzurum.
The 1951 Kurşunlu earthquake occurred at 18:33 GMT on 13 August near Kurşunlu, Çankırı Province, Central Anatolia Region, Turkey. The earthquake was one of a series of major and intermediate quakes that have occurred in modern times along the North Anatolian Fault since 1939.
The 2011 Van earthquakes occurred in eastern Turkey near the city of Van. The first earthquake happened on 23 October at 13:41 local time. The shock had a magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It occurred at a shallow depth, causing heavy shaking across much of eastern Turkey and lighter tremors across neighboring parts of the South Caucasus and Levant. According to Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency on 30 October, the earthquake killed 604 and injured 4,152. At least 11,232 buildings sustained damage in the region, 6,017 of which were found to be uninhabitable. The uninhabitable homes left as much as 8,321 households with an average household population of around 7.6 homeless in the province; this could mean that at least around 60,000 people were left homeless. The other 5,215 have been damaged but are habitable. A separate earthquake within the same earthquake system happened on 9 November at 21:23 local time. 40 people were killed and 260 people were injured in the 9 November earthquake.
