April 19, 1938 Earthquake: Kirsehir, Turkey
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Kirsehir, Turkey on April 19, 1938 at 10:59:21 UTC, 10 km below the surface. It killed 224 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
- April 19, 1938
- Time
- 10:59:21 UTC
- Place
- Kirsehir, Turkey
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 10 km (6 mi)
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.544° N, 33.911° E
- Country
- Turkey
The toll
- Deaths
- 224
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 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.
Reference #1138 lists magnitude 6.7, 224 deaths.
Reference #1002 lists magnitude 6.8, 800 deaths.
Reference #1071 lists magnitude 6.8, MMI X, 155 deaths, severe damage.
Reference #1250 lists 149 deaths, 800 injured
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- May 1598, Amasya, Corum, Turkey
- November 26, 1943, Ladik, Samsun, Havza, Turkey
- February 1, 1944, Turkey
- August 23, 1835, Turkey
- May 12, 1844, Osmancik, Ankara, Turkey
- August 13, 1951, Kursunlu, Turkey
- February 20, 1940, Kayseri,develi, Turkey
- November 21, 1942, Kastamonu, Kargi, Turkey
- September 28, 1881, Turkey
- March 9, 1902, Cankiri, Turkey
- December 2, 1942, Corum, Turkey
- June 6, 2000, Cerkes, Cubuk, Orta, Turkey
- 109, Galatia, Turkey
- December 20, 2007, Yeniyapan, Abazlar, Suyuguzel, Central, Turkey
- December 26, 2007, Ankara, Central, Turkey
More
Significant earthquakes of 1938The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1938Recent 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 3614.