August 17, 1949 Earthquake: Karliova, Turkey

Date

August 17, 1949

Time

18:44:18 UTC

Place

Karliova, Turkey

Magnitude

6.8 (Mw)

Focal depth

15 km (9 mi)

Intensity

10 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

39.503° N, 40.671° E

Country

Turkey

Deaths

320

Injuries

355

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.

• December 26, 1939, Erzincan, TurkeyM7.8 · 32,700 deaths · $20 million · 120,000 houses destroyed · 103 km
• 1458, Erzincan,erzurum, Turkey32,000 deaths · 50 km
• 1482, Erzincan,erzurum, TurkeyM7.5 · 30,000 deaths · 50 km
• 1444, Nemrut Mtns, Turkey30,000 deaths · 159 km
• June 2, 1859, Erzurum, TurkeyM6.1 · 15,000 deaths · 70 km
• 1268, Erzincan, Turkey15,000 deaths · 104 km
• July 23, 1784, Erzurum,erzincan, Turkey5,000 deaths · 103 km
• April 28, 1903, Malazgirt, TurkeyM6.3 · 3,560 deaths · 12,000 houses destroyed · 164 km
• August 19, 1966, Varto, TurkeyM6.8 · 2,394 deaths · $20 million · 83 km
• September 6, 1975, Lice, TurkeyM6.7 · 2,311 deaths · 115 km
• October 30, 1983, Erzurum, Kars, Khorasan, Pasinler, Narman, TurkeyM6.9 · 1,342 deaths · $25 million · 159 km
• May 22, 1971, Bingol, TurkeyM6.7 · 995 deaths · $5 million · 80 km
• May 31, 1946, Ustukran, TurkeyM5.9 · 840 deaths · 68 km
• March 13, 1992, Erzincan, TurkeyM6.9 · 653 deaths · $750 million · 94 km
• December 5, 1943, NE, Anatolia, Turkey550 deaths · 80 km

Significant earthquakes of 1949The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1949Recent 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 3917.