Nearly 20 earthquakes of magnitude greater than 7 have struck Turkey in the past century. The most recent one, which struck southern Turkey on Monday, is the most powerful to hit the country since 1939, when a 7.8-magnitude earthquake devastated the northeast. It also is the deadliest in more than 80 years.
How the earthquake in Turkey and Syria compares with other deadly tremors
By Júlia Ledur
February 10, 2023 at 2:58 p.m. EST
As of Friday morning, the confirmed death toll had surpassed 22,000 in Turkey and Syria, and it is expected to rise as rescue teams continue digging through crumbled buildings. In 1999, a 7.4-magnitude tremor in Kocaeli province, 60 miles outside Istanbul, killed more than 17,000.
Deadly earthquakes
in Turkey since 1900
3k
10k
30k deaths
Magnitude
4
5
6
7
8
9
Nurdagi, 2023
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10,
12 p.m.
Erzincan, 1939
Magnitude
32.7k deaths
8
Izmit, 1999
17.1k+ deaths
7
6
5
4
1900
1940
1980
2023
Only includes “significant earthquakes,” which are
classified by the National Centers for
Environmental Information based on deaths,
damage and magnitude criteria.
Deadly earthquakes in Turkey since 1900
3k
10k
30k deaths
Magnitude
4
5
6
7
8
9
Nurdagi, 2023
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10,
12 p.m.
Erzincan, 1939
32.7k deaths
Magnitude
8
Izmit, 1999
17.1k+ deaths
7
6
5
4
1900
1940
1980
2023
Only includes “significant earthquakes,” which are classified by
the National Centers for Environmental Information based on
deaths, damage and magnitude criteria.
Deadly earthquakes in Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
3k
10k
30k deaths
4
5
6
7
8
9
Nurdagi, 2023
Erzincan, 1939
SOUTHERN TURKEY
EASTERN TURKEY
Izmit, 1999
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10, 12 p.m.
Magnitude
32.7k deaths
WESTERN TURKEY
17.1k+ deaths
8
Muradiye, 1976
EASTERN TURKEY
5k deaths
7
6
5
4
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2023
Only includes “significant earthquakes,” which are classified by the National Centers for
Environmental Information based on deaths, damage and magnitude criteria.
Deadly earthquakes in Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
3k
10k
30k deaths
4
5
6
7
8
9
Nurdagi, 2023
Erzincan, 1939
SOUTHERN TURKEY
EASTERN TURKEY
Izmit, 1999
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10, 12 p.m.
32.7k deaths
WESTERN TURKEY
Magnitude
17.1k+ deaths
8
Muradiye, 1976
EASTERN TURKEY
5k deaths
7
6
5
4
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2023
Only includes “significant earthquakes,” which are classified by the National Centers for Environmental Information
based on deaths, damage and magnitude criteria.
Worldwide, the quake is among the 20 deadliest over the past century and the worst since 2010, when a 7.0-magnitude earthquake in Haiti killed more than 300,000 people.
World's deadliest earthquakes
since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
Magnitude
China, 1920
Turkey, 2023
8.5
200k deaths
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10, 12 p.m.
8.0
China,
1976
7.5
242.7k+
deaths
7.0
Haiti,
2010
6.5
316k
deaths
6.0
1900
1940
1980
2023
World's deadliest earthquakes
since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
Magnitude
China, 1920
Turkey, 2023
8.5
200k deaths
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10, 12 p.m.
8.0
China,
1976
242.7k+
deaths
7.5
7.0
Haiti,
2010
6.5
316k
deaths
6.0
1900
1940
1980
2023
World's deadliest earthquakes since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
China, 1920
Magnitude
200k deaths
8.5
Turkey, 2023
22k+ deaths,
as of Feb 10, 12 p.m.
Japan,
1923
8.0
China, 1976
142.8k+
deaths
242.7k+ deaths
7.5
7.0
Haiti, 2010
316k deaths
6.5
6.0
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2023
The high death toll in Syria and Turkey results from a combination of factors: the power and size of the earthquake, its proximity to densely populated areas, and it shallow point of origin below the surface of the Earth. Monday’s earthquake originated only 11 miles deep, which means that seismic waves took a short time to reach the surface. Earthquakes that occur deeper in the earth are less destructive because they lose some strength by the time their energy reaches the surface.
Distance from earthquake origin
to the Earth’s surface
Depth of the hypocenter in 20 deadliest
quakes since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
Armenia,
1988
EARTH’S SURFACE
Haiti,
2010
3 mi
8 mi
5 miles
below surface
10
China,
1920
Turkey,
2023
15
9 mi
11 mi
20
25
30
1900
1940
1980
2023
Distance from earthquake origin
to the Earth’s surface
Depth of the hypocenter in the 20 deadliest
quakes since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
Armenia,
1988
EARTH’S SURFACE
3 mi
Haiti,
2010
8 mi
5 miles
below surface
10
China,
1920
Turkey,
2023
9 mi
15
11 mi
20
25
30
1900
1940
1980
2023
Distance from earthquake origin to the Earth’s surface
Depth of the hypocenter in the 20 deadliest quakes since 1900
30K
100K
300K deaths
EARTH’S SURFACE
Haiti, 2010
Armenia,
1988
8 mi
5 miles
below surface
3 mi
10
China, 1920
Turkey,
2023
9 mi
15
11 mi
20
25
30
1900
1920
1940
1960
1980
2000
2023
Turkey has a long history of destructive tremors. The country sits at the intersection of three major tectonic plates — the Arabian, Anatolian and African. As the plates move and squeeze against each other, they put pressure on their fault zones, which are cracks in the earth’s crust. This movement builds stress that is released suddenly from time to time, resulting in earthquakes.
Historically, much of Turkey’s seismic activity happens in the north, a region that’s closely watched because of its proximity to Istanbul, which has a population of 15 million. Since 1900, dozens of quakes have originated along the northern fault, many of them over magnitude 7.
Deadly earthquakes
around Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
30k deaths
7 or greater
3k
Lower than 7
EURASIAN PLATE
GEORGIA
Istanbul
ARMENIA
Ankara
ANATOLIAN PLATE
East
Anatolian
Fault
TURKEY
2023
quake
Plate
movement
Aleppo
IRAQ
SYRIA
ARABIAN PLATE
AFRICAN PLATE
Damascus
200 MI
Only includes significant earthquakes
of magnitude greater than 4.
Deadly earthquakes
around Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
30k deaths
7 or greater
10k
3k
Lower than 7
200 MILES
EURASIAN PLATE
Black Sea
GEORGIA
1999
Istanbul
1988
1939
ARMENIA
Bursa
Ankara
ANATOLIAN PLATE
TURKEY
East
Anatolian
Fault
2023
quake
Plate
movement
Aleppo
CYPRUS
SYRIA
IRAQ
LEBANON
Med. Sea
Beirut
ARABIAN PLATE
Damascus
AFRICAN PLATE
Only includes significant earthquakes
of magnitude greater than 4.
Deadly earthquakes around Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
30k deaths
7 or greater
10k
3k
Lower than 7
Earthquakes at the intersection of these three plates have been common.
EURASIAN PLATE
BULGARIA
Black Sea
GEORGIA
Tbilisi
1999
Istanbul
1988
1939
ARMENIA
Bursa
Ankara
ANATOLIAN PLATE
TURKEY
East Anatolian
Fault
2023
quake
Plate
movement
Gaziantep
Aleppo
ARABIAN PLATE
CYPRUS
SYRIA
IRAQ
LEBANON
Baghdad
Med. Sea
Beirut
Damascus
AFRICAN PLATE
200 MILES
Only includes significant earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4.
Deadly earthquakes around Turkey since 1900
Magnitude
30k deaths
7 or greater
10k
3k
Lower than 7
EURASIAN PLATE
BULGARIA
Earthquakes at the intersection of these three plates have been common.
Black Sea
GEORGIA
Tbilisi
1999
Istanbul
1988
1939
ARMENIA
Bursa
Ankara
ANATOLIAN PLATE
TURKEY
East Anatolian
Fault
2023
quake
GREECE
Plate
movement
IRAN
Gaziantep
Aleppo
ARABIAN PLATE
CYPRUS
SYRIA
IRAQ
LEBANON
Baghdad
Beirut
Damascus
Mediterranean
Sea
AFRICAN PLATE
200 MILES
Only includes significant earthquakes of magnitude greater than 4.
Earthquakes along the East Anatolian Fault are less common. Monday’s quake was one of about a dozen to occur there in the past hundred years, none greater than magnitude 7. Seismological experts told The Washington Post that the lack of recent earthquakes along that fault and the northward movement of the Arabian plate led to pent-up strain in the region, which caused a vertical fracture in the Earth’s crust.
Number of casualties as of 12 p.m. Eastern, Feb. 10.
Sources: Global Significant Earthquake Database from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, United States Geological Survey (USGS).
Editing by Samuel Granados and Reem Akkad.