November 17, 1821 Earthquake: Romania, Moldova
A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Romania, Moldova on November 17, 1821 at 13:30 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- November 17, 1821
- Time
- 13:30 UTC
- Place
- Romania, Moldova
- Magnitude
- 6.7 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 45.700° N, 26.600° E
- Country
- Romania
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1821 Nov 17. 45.8 N 26.6 E, 13:45 UTC. Strong shocks in Moldavia, Valachia, S. Russia, some damage in Kiev, Lvov, Iaqi and Bucureqti, fissures in walls (AI, FH, MMC, MJD, EU), (FA) assumes the epicentre near Crimea, no data, however, in (PV). (reference #1099)
1821 Nov 17. 45.7 N 26.6 E, 13:30 UTC. (reference #223)
On November 17, 1821, an earthquake took place in the south of Russia. It continued for 40 sec in Odessa (now Ukraine). "The sea exceeded its standard level". (reference #4658)
1821 Nov 17. This was a strong earthquake which caused some damage to buildings at Jassy, Moldavia, and was felt in Kiev and other Ukranian localities and as far as Tiflis in Georgia (von Hoff, 1841; Mallet, 1855). (reference #9391)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 4, 1977, Bucharest, Romania
- November 10, 1940, Romania
- January 23, 1838, Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
- May 30, 1990, Bucharest, Braila, Brasov, Romania
- August 30, 1986, Bucharest, Kishinev-Kagul, Romania
- November 24, 1516, Romania
- October 26, 1802, Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
- October 27, 2004, Northern, Bucharest, Braila, Bulgaria, Romania
- May 31, 1990, Kishinev, Cis, Romania
- November 26, 1829, Bucharest, Romania
More
Significant earthquakes of 1821The 1800sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 6504.