December 18, 1901 Earthquake: Khios, Ayvalik, Mosko Is, Greece, Turkey
A magnitude 5.9 earthquake struck Khios, Ayvalik, Mosko Is, Greece, Turkey on December 18, 1901 at 03:51 UTC.
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
- December 18, 1901
- Time
- 03:51 UTC
- Place
- Khios, Ayvalik, Mosko Is, Greece, Turkey
- Magnitude
- 5.9 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.400° N, 26.700° E
- Country
- Turkey
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 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.
December 18, 1901, 03:51 UTC, 39.4 N, 26.7 E, Ayvalik, magnitude = 5.9, intensity = VIII. A damaging earthquake with an offshore epicentre in the Gulf of Edremit. Hundreds of houses were rendered uninhabitable in Ayvalik and on Mosko Is.; the church of St. George and a school were badly damaged. Damage extended to Pelle, Daglar, Asses and to the island of Chios. The shock was felt in Istanbul, Bursa, Aydin and Samos. (reference #1215)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 10, 1668, Turkey
- July 10, 1688, Izmir, Turkey
- October 15, 1883, Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme, Turkey
- April 3, 1881, Cesme, Khios, Turkey, Greece
- September 10, 1509, Istanbul, Turkey
- August 9, 1912, Marmara Sea, Turkey
- February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, Turkey
- 688, Izmir, Turkey
- March 18, 1953, Yenice, Onon, Turkey
- March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, Greece
- August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece
- March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, Turkey
- October 30, 2020, Izmir, Samos, Turkey, Greece
- March 28, 1969, Alasehir, Sarigol, Kiraz, Turkey
- September 21, 1939, Turkey
More
Significant earthquakes of 1901The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1901Recent 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 2602.