September 10, 1941 Earthquake: Van, Ercis, Turkey
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Van, Ercis, Turkey on September 10, 1941 at 21:53:55 UTC, 15 km below the surface. It killed 430 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
- September 10, 1941
- Time
- 21:53:55 UTC
- Place
- Van, Ercis, Turkey
- Magnitude
- 6 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 15 km (9 mi)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.196° N, 43.444° E
- Country
- Turkey
The toll
- Deaths
- 430
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 6.0, 430 deaths.
Reference #1002 lists magnitude 6.0, 500 deaths.
Reference #10476 (v9.1) lists 1941 September 10 21:53:55.35 UTC, 39.196 N 43.444 E, magnitude 5.97 Mw, depth 15
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 24, 893, Ardabil, Dvin, Iran, Armenia
- 1444, Nemrut Mtns, Turkey
- June 2, 1859, Erzurum, Turkey
- 851, Dvin, Armenia
- January 858, Dvina, Turkey, Armenia
- June 4, 1679, Dvina, Turkey, Armenia
- November 24, 1976, Muradiye, Turkey
- April 28, 1903, Malazgirt, Turkey
- May 6, 1930, Salmas, Iran
- August 19, 1966, Varto, Turkey
- March 31, 1648, Van, Turkey
- 854, Tovin, Armenia
- October 30, 1983, Erzurum, Kars, Khorasan, Pasinler, Narman, Turkey
- July 2, 1840, Maku, Mt Ararat, Aguri, Aralikh, Iran, Turkey
- April 18, 1843, Khvoy (Khoy), Iran
More
Significant earthquakes of 1941The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1941Recent 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 3684.