March 4, 1977 Earthquake: Bucharest, Romania
A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Bucharest, Romania on March 4, 1977 at 19:21:55 UTC, 89 km below the surface. It killed 1,641 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
- March 4, 1977
- Time
- 19:21:55 UTC
- Place
- Bucharest, Romania
- Magnitude
- 7.5 (Mw)
- Focal depth
- 89 km (55 mi)
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 45.777° N, 26.703° E
- Country
- Romania
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,641
- Injuries
- 10,500
- Damage
- $2 billion
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.
1977, March 4. 1,500 reported killed, 10,500 injured, and major damage in Bucharest area, deaths reported in Bulgaria and injuries in Yugoslavia. Felt Rome to Moscow and Turkey to Finland. MAG. 7.2 MB (PAS). (reference 1053)
1977, March 4. 1,641 deaths, 386,300 affected, $2000 million damage. (reference #1250)
1977, March 4, 19:21:55.61 UTC. 45.777 N, 26.703 E, 88.9 km depth, 7.5 Mw HRV, 7.1 mB ABE3, 6.1 mb ISC, 6.4 mb NEIS, 7.2 UK PAS. (reference #9910)
1977, March 4, 19:21:57.16 UTC. 45.916 N, 26.665 E, 91.4 km depth, 7.47 Mw. (reference #10476)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- November 10, 1940, Romania
- January 23, 1838, Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
- May 30, 1990, Bucharest, Braila, Brasov, Romania
- August 30, 1986, Bucharest, Kishinev-Kagul, Romania
- May 31, 1990, Kishinev, Cis, Romania
- October 27, 2004, Northern, Bucharest, Braila, Bulgaria, Romania
- November 24, 1516, Romania
- October 26, 1802, Carpathian Fold,vrancea, Romania
- November 17, 1821, Romania, Moldova
- November 26, 1829, Bucharest, Romania
More
Significant earthquakes of 1977The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1977Recent 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 4760.