July 12, 1966 Earthquake: Black Sea, Russia
A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck Black Sea, Russia on July 12, 1966 at 18:53 UTC, 33 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
- July 12, 1966
- Time
- 18:53 UTC
- Place
- Black Sea, Russia
- Magnitude
- 5.5 (Ms)
- Focal depth
- 33 km (21 mi)
- Intensity
- 6 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 44.750° N, 37.000° E
- Country
- Russia
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.
July 12, 1966, 18:53 UTC, 44.6 N, 37.4 E, depth 25 km, magnitude 5.9 mb, 5.6 Ms. Black Sea, on the seismotectonic arc joining southern Crimea to the Caucasus; intensity VI. (reference #1039)
On 12 July 1966 at 1853 (GMT), a submarine earthquake occurred not far from Anapa, accompanied by a tsunami. The epicenter was located approximately 10 km from the shore at a location with coordinates 37.2 E and 44.7 N. Its focal depth was 55 km, and approximate magnitude and intensity were 5.8 (KOERI database) and 6 [Nikonov, 1997], respectively. (reference #4213)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1966The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1966Recent 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 4371.