October 20, 2005 Earthquake: Izmir, Turkey

Date

October 20, 2005

Time

21:40:04 UTC

Place

Izmir, Turkey

Magnitude

5.9 (Mw)

Focal depth

10 km (6 mi)

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

38.152° N, 26.751° E

Country

Turkey

Deaths

1

Injuries

15

Damage

Limited (under about $1 million)

Houses destroyed

Some (about 51 to 100)

Houses damaged

Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

• July 10, 1668, TurkeyM6.6 · 17,500 deaths · 41 km
• July 10, 1688, Izmir, TurkeyM7 · 16,000 deaths · 30 km
• October 15, 1883, Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme, TurkeyM7.3 · 15,000 deaths · 3,600 houses destroyed · 51 km
• April 3, 1881, Cesme, Khios, Turkey, GreeceM7.3 · 7,866 deaths · 45 km
• October 1491, Kos, Greece5,000 deaths · 141 km
• February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, TurkeyM7.5 · 2,500 deaths · 127 km
• 688, Izmir, Turkey2,000 deaths · 48 km
• September 20, 1899, Sultanhisar,atca,nazilli,kuyucak,denizli, TurkeyM6.7 · 1,117 deaths · 7,126 houses destroyed · 185 km
• March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 563 deaths · 5,915 houses destroyed · 120 km
• August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece500 deaths · 134 km
• April 23, 1933, Dodecanese Islands, GreeceM6.4 · 181 deaths · 162 km
• March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, TurkeyM6.5 · 170 deaths · 2,600 houses destroyed · 57 km
• October 30, 2020, Izmir, Samos, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 118 deaths · $400 million · 29 km
• July 9, 1956, Dodecanese, GreeceM7.7 · 56 deaths · 529 houses destroyed · 180 km
• March 28, 1969, Alasehir, Sarigol, Kiraz, TurkeyM6.5 · 53 deaths · 152 km

Significant earthquakes of 2005The 2000sEvery quake the USGS located in 2005Recent 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 6779.