688 Earthquake: Izmir, Turkey

Date

688

Place

Izmir, Turkey

Intensity

9 on the Modified Mercalli scale

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

38.400° N, 27.200° E

Country

Turkey

Deaths

2,000

Damage

Severe (about $5 to $25 million)

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 · 9 km
• July 10, 1688, Izmir, TurkeyM7 · 16,000 deaths · 26 km
• October 15, 1883, Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme, TurkeyM7.3 · 15,000 deaths · 3,600 houses destroyed · 88 km
• April 3, 1881, Cesme, Khios, Turkey, GreeceM7.3 · 7,866 deaths · 85 km
• October 1491, Kos, Greece5,000 deaths · 168 km
• February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, TurkeyM7.5 · 2,500 deaths · 90 km
• September 20, 1899, Sultanhisar,atca,nazilli,kuyucak,denizli, TurkeyM6.7 · 1,117 deaths · 7,126 houses destroyed · 153 km
• March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 563 deaths · 5,915 houses destroyed · 113 km
• August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece500 deaths · 127 km
• April 23, 1933, Dodecanese Islands, GreeceM6.4 · 181 deaths · 183 km
• March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, TurkeyM6.5 · 170 deaths · 2,600 houses destroyed · 38 km
• October 30, 2020, Izmir, Samos, Turkey, GreeceM7 · 118 deaths · $400 million · 67 km
• March 28, 1969, Alasehir, Sarigol, Kiraz, TurkeyM6.5 · 53 deaths · 107 km
• September 21, 1939, TurkeyM6.5 · 41 deaths · 85 km
• 1577, Balikesir, Turkey40 deaths · 162 km

Significant earthquakes of 688The 600sRecent earthquakes near here

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 163.