May 23, 1961 Earthquake: Turkey
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck Turkey on May 23, 1961 at 02:45:19 UTC, 35 km below the surface. It caused a tsunami.
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
- May 23, 1961
- Time
- 02:45:19 UTC
- Place
- Turkey
- Magnitude
- 6.4 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 35 km (22 mi)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 36.693° N, 28.594° E
- Country
- Turkey
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1961 May 23, 02:45:19.04 UTC, magnitude 6.4 Mw, depth 35 (reference #10476)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- October 1491, Kos, Greece
- October 3, 1914, Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta, Turkey
- February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, Turkey
- September 20, 1899, Sultanhisar,atca,nazilli,kuyucak,denizli, Turkey
- April 22, 1863, Rhodes, Kos, Greece
- April 23, 1933, Dodecanese Islands, Greece
- March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, Turkey
- May 12, 1971, Burdur, Turkey
- July 16, 1955, Samos, Soke, Aydin, Greece, Turkey
- April 25, 1957, Fethiye (Lycia, Asia Minor), Turkey
- December 21, 1945, Denizli, Burdur, Turkey
- August 19, 1976, Denizli, Turkey
- August 11, 1904, Samos, Patmos, Greece
- December 1, 1869, Gulf of Keramos, Mentese, Turkey
- July 20, 2017, Kos, Bodrum, Datca, Greece, Turkey
More
Significant earthquakes of 1961The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1961Recent 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 7780.