January 23, 1838 Earthquake: Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
A magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania on January 23, 1838 at 18:36 UTC, 150 km below the surface. It killed 42 people.
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
- January 23, 1838
- Time
- 18:36 UTC
- Place
- Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
- Magnitude
- 6.9
- Focal depth
- 150 km (93 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 45.700° N, 26.600° E
- Country
- Romania
The toll
- Deaths
- 42
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
[...] 42 people died in the ruins (reference #223)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- March 4, 1977, Bucharest, Romania
- November 10, 1940, 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
- November 17, 1821, Romania, Moldova
- October 27, 2004, Northern, Bucharest, Braila, Bulgaria, Romania
- May 31, 1990, Kishinev, Cis, Romania
- November 26, 1829, Bucharest, Romania
More
Significant earthquakes of 1838The 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 1807.