February 20, 1920 Earthquake: Gori, Tiflis, Caucasus, Georgia
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Gori, Tiflis, Caucasus, Georgia on February 20, 1920 at 11:44:25 UTC, 11 km below the surface.
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
- February 20, 1920
- Time
- 11:44:25 UTC
- Place
- Gori, Tiflis, Caucasus, Georgia
- Magnitude
- 6.2 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 11 km (7 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 42.000° N, 44.100° E
- Country
- Georgia
The toll
- Deaths
- Many (about 101 to 1,000)
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
February 2, 1920, 11:44:25 UTC, 42 N, 44.1 E, depth 11 km, magntiude 6.2 MS. intensity VIII-IX. (reference #223)
Gori, Trans-Caucasia, february 23 (?), 1920.--A severe earthquake is reported from Gori, a small town about forty miles west of Tiflis, on the south side of the Caucasian mountains. The towns of Gori, Makhet, and Grakali are said to have been quite destroyed, and many lives to have been lost. The time of the shock is not mentioned. Serious damages are reported from several villages, and in the city of Tiflis many buildings were severely damage. The railway between Tiflis and Batoun was badly damaged. (reference #7956)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 7, 1988, Leninakan, Spitak, Kirovakan, Armenia
- May 28, 1903, Varginis,cardahli,mehkerek, Turkey
- May 1, 1935, Kigi, Turkey
- October 22, 1926, Turkey, Armenia
- April 29, 1991, Dzhava, Chiatura, Ambrolauri, Georgia
- December 31, 1899, Turkey
- January 9, 1925, Ardahan, Turkey
- May 7, 1940, Turkey-Cis
- June 15, 1991, Dzhava, Tskhinvali, Ossetia, Georgia
- April 25, 2002, Tbilisi, Georgia
- April 29, 1976, Turkey
- September 18, 1984, E, Erzurum, Olur-Senkaya, Turkey
- May 13, 1986, Akhalkalaki, Susuz, Georgia
- March 25, 1976, Turkey
- August 3, 1989, Groznyy, Buynaksk, Russia
More
Significant earthquakes of 1920The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1920Recent 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 3151.