April 23, 1970 Earthquake: Demirci, Manisa, Turkey
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck Demirci, Manisa, Turkey on April 23, 1970 at 09:01:00 UTC, 18 km below the surface.
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
- April 23, 1970
- Time
- 09:01:00 UTC
- Place
- Demirci, Manisa, Turkey
- Magnitude
- 5.7 (Ms)
- Magnitude scales
- Ms 5.7 · mb 5.7
- Focal depth
- 18 km (11 mi)
- Intensity
- VIII, severe shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 39.100° N, 28.700° E
- Country
- Turkey
- Region
- Middle East
- USGS record
- The USGS’s page for this earthquake
Ms: surface-wave magnitude. mb: body-wave (P-wave) magnitude. NCEI’s headline magnitude is the best of these for the earthquake.
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Injuries
- 43
- Houses destroyed
- 150
- Houses damaged
- 150
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.
April 23, 1970, 09:01 UTC, 39.1 N, 28.7 E, magnitude 5.2 mb, 5.7 MS, depth 18 km. The shock of 23 April occurred some distance west of the main epicentral area, causing casualties
and damage (43 persons injured, 150 houses destroyed) in the environs of Demirci, near the foci of the earthquakes of March, April and October 1969. (reference #1039)
April 23, 1970, magnitude 5.6, intensity VIII, 411 killed, 411 buildings destroyed. (reference #1251)
Sources NCEI cites
The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.
- #1039 Rothe, J.P. (1966-1973). Annual Summary of Information on Natural Disasters, UNESCO, Paris, France, 1966 (no. 1) through 1973 (no. 8), 612 p.
- #1251 Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (2002). Large Turkish Earthquakes, Instanbul, Turkey. Retrieved February 8 from link
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 10, 1668, Turkey
- July 10, 1688, Izmir, Turkey
- May 25, 1719, Turkey
- September 10, 1509, Istanbul, Turkey
- May 22, 1766, Turkey
- October 3, 1914, Burdur, Kilinc, Keciborlu, Isparta, Turkey
- February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, Turkey
- February 28, 1855, Tayabas, Bursa, Turkey
- 688, Izmir, Turkey
- September 2, 1754, Izmit, Turkey
- July 10, 1894, Turkey
- April 29, 1855, Bursa, Turkey
- May 3, 1875, Capali, Dinar, Civril, Yaka, Turkey
- September 20, 1899, Sultanhisar,atca,nazilli,kuyucak,denizli, Turkey
- March 28, 1970, Gediz, Turkey
More
Significant earthquakes of 1970The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1970Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 4528. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem797068, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.