Significant earthquakes of 1857

September 17, 1857 Earthquake: Bursa, Turkey

September 17, 1857

An earthquake struck Bursa, Turkey on September 17, 1857 at 22:00 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
September 17, 1857
Time
22:00 UTC
Place
Bursa, Turkey
Intensity
6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
40.200° N, 29.000° E
Country
Turkey

The toll

Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
Houses destroyed
Some (about 51 to 100)
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.

1857, September 17. Turkey, Brussa and at the same time at Pera near Constantinople. Intensity I which corresponds to an earthquake of intensity sufficient to crack walls, break chimneys, to shatter old buildings or to produce cracks in the ground. (reference #1055)

1857, September 17, 22h. 40.2 N, 29 E, intensity IV to VII. A violent shock in Turkey, at Bursa (Brousse) 30 houses and two palaces thrown down (another reporter speaks only about the collapse of an old hosue), epicenter near Yalova. (reference #1099)

1857, September 17, 22h. In Gemlik a number of houses, the building of musi, a han and some parts of the shipyard were destroyed. Damage extended to Yalova and Angori (now Akkoy), but details are lacking. In Bursa about 30 houses were destroyed and many more were damaged. (reference #9116)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1857The 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 6124.