November 21, 1939 Earthquake: Erzincan, Turkey

Date

November 21, 1939

Time

08:43:00 UTC

Place

Erzincan, Turkey

Magnitude

5.9

Focal depth

80 km (50 mi)

Intensity

7 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

39.700° N, 40.400° E

Country

Turkey

Deaths

13

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.

• December 26, 1939, Erzincan, TurkeyM7.8 · 32,700 deaths · $20 million · 120,000 houses destroyed · 73 km
• 1458, Erzincan,erzurum, Turkey32,000 deaths · 22 km
• 1482, Erzincan,erzurum, TurkeyM7.5 · 30,000 deaths · 22 km
• 1444, Nemrut Mtns, Turkey30,000 deaths · 191 km
• 1268, Erzincan, Turkey15,000 deaths · 77 km
• June 2, 1859, Erzurum, TurkeyM6.1 · 15,000 deaths · 80 km
• July 23, 1784, Erzurum,erzincan, Turkey5,000 deaths · 77 km
• April 28, 1903, Malazgirt, TurkeyM6.3 · 3,560 deaths · 12,000 houses destroyed · 192 km
• August 19, 1966, Varto, TurkeyM6.8 · 2,394 deaths · $20 million · 113 km
• September 6, 1975, Lice, TurkeyM6.7 · 2,311 deaths · 139 km
• October 30, 1983, Erzurum, Kars, Khorasan, Pasinler, Narman, TurkeyM6.9 · 1,342 deaths · $25 million · 168 km
• May 22, 1971, Bingol, TurkeyM6.7 · 995 deaths · $5 million · 100 km
• May 31, 1946, Ustukran, TurkeyM5.9 · 840 deaths · 99 km
• March 13, 1992, Erzincan, TurkeyM6.9 · 653 deaths · $750 million · 68 km
• December 5, 1943, NE, Anatolia, Turkey550 deaths · 48 km

Significant earthquakes of 1939The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1939Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 3647.