September 21, 1939 Earthquake: Turkey

Date

September 21, 1939

Time

00:37:00 UTC

Place

Turkey

Magnitude

6.5

Intensity

9 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

39.100° N, 26.800° E

Country

Turkey

Deaths

41

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.

• July 10, 1668, TurkeyM6.6 · 17,500 deaths · 82 km
• July 10, 1688, Izmir, TurkeyM7 · 16,000 deaths · 78 km
• October 15, 1883, Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme, TurkeyM7.3 · 15,000 deaths · 3,600 houses destroyed · 103 km
• April 3, 1881, Cesme, Khios, Turkey, GreeceM7.3 · 7,866 deaths · 106 km
• August 9, 1912, Marmara Sea, TurkeyM7.2 · 2,800 deaths · 24,700 houses destroyed · 183 km
• February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, TurkeyM7.5 · 2,500 deaths · 157 km
• 688, Izmir, Turkey2,000 deaths · 85 km
• March 18, 1953, Yenice, Onon, TurkeyM7.3 · 1,070 deaths · $3.6 million · 140 km
• March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 563 deaths · 5,915 houses destroyed · 36 km
• August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece500 deaths · 48 km
• March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, TurkeyM6.5 · 170 deaths · 2,600 houses destroyed · 123 km
• October 30, 2020, Izmir, Samos, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 118 deaths · $400 million · 134 km
• March 28, 1969, Alasehir, Sarigol, Kiraz, TurkeyM6.5 · 53 deaths · 149 km
• 1577, Balikesir, Turkey40 deaths · 119 km
• October 6, 1944, Ayvalik, TurkeyM6.7 · 30 deaths · 5,500 houses destroyed · 49 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 3645.