May 12, 1844 Earthquake: Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey

Name: May 12, 1844 Earthquake: Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey
Start: 1844-05-12
Location: Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey

May 12, 1844 · 200 deaths

An earthquake struck Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey on May 12, 1844. It killed 200 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: May 12, 1844
Place: Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey
Intensity: 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: None recorded
Epicenter: 40.980° N, 34.800° E
Country: Turkey

The toll

Deaths: 200
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed: 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.

May 12?, 1844, 41 N, 35 E, intensity VIII-IX. Ankara, Osmancik, a newspaper reports on violent shocks between Ankara and Osmancik, many houses thrown down, 200 victims, epicenter near Osmancik. (reference #1099)

May 1844, Turkey, Angora, Osmandjik, intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)

1844, Ankara and Osmancik, 40.98 N, 34.8 E, intensity VII. (reference #1071)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1844 The 1800s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 1860.