1992 Erzincan earthquake

6.9-magnitude earthquake in eastern Turkey October 2024 the 1992 earthquake the 1939 earthquake 1939 Erzincan earthquake 1992 Erzincan earthquake Turkey 1992-03-13 17:18:39 299638 iscgem299638 13 March 1992 8:18:39 pm 6–7 secondsÇelebi 1992 397Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1972 s y 6.8–6.9Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 465w y 6.6–6.7b y 6.2 20 km mi 0 on 39.71 39.6 region:TR_type:event inline,title North Anatolian Fault Strike-slip Erzincan, Turkey $500 million – $1.5 billionfn1 In 1992 USDBarka Eyidoǧan 1993 190Sengezer Koç 2005 173 IXYarar Eisenberg Karadogan 1993 4379Berge-Thierry Bernard Herrero 2001 87 0.5 gÇelebi 1992 397 No Yes Thousands, largest was s 5.8Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1973 498–950 deadUlusu 2025 32,800 injuredPinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1971 An earthquake struck eastern Turkey near the city of Erzincan at 20:18:39 local time on 13 March 1992. The second major earthquake to hit Erzincan in half a century, it measured 6.6–6.7 on the moment magnitude scale (w). It was assigned a maximum Modified Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent) and EMS-98 intensity of IX (Destructive). The horizontal peak ground acceleration reached 0.5 g, which is near the 1 in 475 year maximum for the area. Two days after the mainshock, a large s 5.8 y aftershock struck Pülümür, causing further damage. Faulting occurred on the North Anatolian Fault where multiple other w 8+ earthquakes have occurred. Financial losses from the earthquake reached $500 million – $1.5 billion.fn1 Significant destruction occurred; Erzincan was devastated due to proximity to the epicenter. Damage was amplified due to systemic disregard for the building codes. Over 200 buildings collapsed, and over 15,000 were damaged. Infrastructure, however, remained mostly intact. 498-950 people died and roughly 2,800 were injured. Tectonic setting Geology of Turkey lang=en|thumb|Map of the Anatolian Plate, featuring the North Anatolian Fault. Most of Turkey lies on the Anatolian Plate. Deformation from plate tectonics is accommodated through three main faults: the eastern portion of the Hellenic Trench accommodates convergence between the Aegean Sea plate and the Anatolian Plate in the south. The North Anatolian Fault in the north (along which this earthquake occurred) accommodates the deformation between the Anatolian Plate and the Eurasian plate which forces the Anatolian west, and the East Anatolian Fault in the east accommodates the same deformation.Kiratzi 1993 191 The North Anatolian fault stretches for 1500 km on in an east–west orientation from the Aegean Sea to Karlıova.Kaypak Eyidogan 2005 2 In the location of the earthquake, the North Anatolian fault currently slips dextrally at a rate of ~20 mm on/yr.Trifonov Bayractutan Karakhanian Ivanova 1993 184 The Erzincan basin is 50 km on by 15–25 km on and lies at the intersection of the North Anatolian fault with the East Anatolian fault.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 287Avşar Türkoğlu Unsworth Çağlar 2013 409Berge-Thierry Bernard Herrero 2001 86–87 It is a convoluted pull-apart basin formed by the North Anatolian Fault's interaction with the Ovacık and Northeast Anatolian faults, and is the largest North Anatolian Fault related basin.Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1971Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 3Akinci Malagnini Herrmann Pino 2001 1446 Erzincan lies along the North Anatolian Fault, leading to the highest earthquake hazard in Turkey—comparable to that of the San Andreas Fault in California. In the past millennia, at least 17 earthquakes have struck the Erzincan area with an MSK of VIII (Damaging)) or higher.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 283 In the same time frame, at least 18 earthquakes of w 8 have struck the area.Askan Sisman Ugurhan 2013 172 Notoriously, the s 7.8 1939 Erzincan earthquake struck the same area in 1939, which with an MMI of XII (Extreme) caused immense devastation.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 279 Earthquake List of earthquakes in Turkey The earthquake struck at 17:18:39 on March 13, 1992. At 6.6–6.7 on the moment magnitude scale, the earthquake was designated as "strong". The shock also had recorded magnitudes of s 6.8–6.9 y and b 6.2 y.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 465 The maximum MSK-64 intensity was evaluated at IX (Destructive) and the maximum Modified Mercalli intensity was also IX (Violent).Berge-Thierry Bernard Herrero 2001 87Yarar Eisenberg Karadogan 1993 437 The earthquake had a recorded peak ground acceleration (maximum acceleration of the ground from an earthquake) of 0.5 g and peak ground velocity (maximum velocity of the ground from an earthquake) of 105 cm/s on.Avşar Türkoğlu Unsworth Çağlar 2013Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 284 This strong ground acceleration is near the highest expected to occur in the area every 475 years.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 279 The earthquake rupture lasted for 6–7 seconds, with strong ground motion in Erzincan lasting 20 seconds due to seismic wave propagation.Çelebi 1992 397Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1972Otani 1999 494 Strong shaking was felt across the northeast of Turkey.USGS 1992 73 The partially blind earthquake (not reaching the surface) had a focal mechanism which indicated strike slip faulting, consistent with rupture on the North Anatolian Fault.Barka Eyidoǧan 1993 190 The fault segment along which the mainshock occurred had a strike of 120–132 degrees with a dip between 72 and 90 degrees.Legrand Delouis 1999 804Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 473Berge Herrero Bernard Bour 1998 43 Rupture propagated bilaterally along the fault, and in the southeast terminated where the fault meets the Ovacık fault.Bernard Gabriel Dorbath 1997 1230 However, for modeling to match recorded seismic signals, two additional subevents are required, further to the southeast of the initial rupture.Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1973 Rupture is estimated to be 30-50 km long with an average slip of 95–150 cm.Barka Eyidoǧan 1993 190Pegler Das 1996 90Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 17 Maximum slip was estimated to be 2.71 m ft on. The earthquake's average resultant stress drop (change in stress on a fault from an earthquake) was calculated to be 3.3 MPa, with a maximum drop of 9.7 MPa.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 495 Despite there being a seismic gap after the 1784 Erzincan earthquake near where the mainshock ruptured, the earthquake's rupture terminated near it rather than continuing through it.Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 20 This may have been due to extensional tectonics not favoring rupture propagation in this direction.Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 21 In the northwest, rupture terminated where the 1939 earthquake released a lot of strain. Therefore, the rupture was between the 1939 and 1784 earthquakes.Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 27 Aftershocks More than 3,000 aftershocks rocked the area afterwards, including a s 5.8 strike slip and thrust faulting aftershock along the Pülümür fault that struck Pülümür two days after the mainshock.Fuenzalida Dorbath Cisternas Eyidogan 1997 17Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 476Nalbant Barka Alptekin 1996 1561 The Pülümür shock likely resulted from a localized increase in static stress of 1.4 bar as a result of the mainshock.Nalbant Barka Alptekin 1996 1561 A temporary group of 10 seismographs were set up in the area to monitor aftershocks.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 465 By a week after the mainshock, a majority of aftershocks were occurring at the southeastern end of the Erzincan Basin—not where the mainshock struck.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 488 Practically no aftershocks were recorded west of the mainshock rupture, despite faults in the area being optimally oriented. This is likely due to the much larger stress shadow (area where an earthquake has led to decreased stress that might look like a 'shadow' on a map of seismicity) from the 1939 earthquake relaxing this area so much that the increase in stress from the mainshock did not bring faults here to failure.Utkucu Durmuş Nalbant 2016 1856–1857 As time passed after the mainshock, the area of which aftershocks occurred increased in size. This may have been a result of Coulomb stress transfer from the mainshock.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 497 Impact The earthquake left 498–950 people killed and 2,800 injured.Ulusu 2025 3Pinar Honkura Kikuchi 1994 1971 It collapsed over 200 buildings, including the three largest hotels, and left all three hospitals in Erzincan out of service.Çelebi 1992 399 The earthquake damaged over 11,000 homes, with 2,200 heavily damaged in Erzincan alone.Yarar Eisenberg Karadogan 1993 437USGS 1992 73 Over 15,000 buildings were damaged total.Yarar Eisenberg Karadogan 1993 437 16,000–17,000 people became homeless as a result of the earthquake.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 466 Destruction was made worse by the very poor adherence to the already weak local building codes and lax enforcement of the regulations.Çelebi 1992 402 Additionally, the alluvial soil that the city was built upon amplified the seismic waves, further increasing damage.Ulusu 2025 9 The Ankara–Kars railway suffered some damage, but maintained continuous train service.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 305–306 A big portion of Erzincan was cut off from the water supply due to water pipe damage and a lack of redundancy. Telecommunication infrastructure was briefly offline until a portable relay truck brought it back up.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 306 A small fire broke out, but no major damage came of it. Power infrastructure was mostly untouched with the exception of the main transformer station. It suffered minor damage and remained operational.Williams Pomonis Booth Vaciago 1992 91 Damages caused by the earthquake were estimated as at least $500 million, with estimates up to $1.5 billion.fn1Barka Eyidoǧan 1993 190Sengezer Koç 2005 173 Due to the earthquake, the Erzincan Basin shifted 1 m on northwestward.Grosser Baumbach Berckhemer Baier 1998 500 Erzincanspor, the local football team, withdrew from the 1991–92 3. Lig on the 24th week after the earthquake. Geological effects The mainshock triggered widespread landslides, rockslides, and avalanches in the shaken regions. Most of the surface effects occurred in steep areas, where road surfaces were damaged and transportation routes were cut off.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 289 Ground fissures and liquefaction also occurred in nearby localities. Sand boils were also reported.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 290 Additionally, small springs smelling of sulfur and burnt grass were found nearby a small scarp.Trifonov Bayractutan Karakhanian Ivanova 1993 187 Aftermath In the immediate aftermath, the military stationed in Erzincan assisted search and rescue. However, due to a lack of equipment and experience, the initial search and rescue effort was not very productive.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 308 75 prisoners in a local jail attempted to escape during the chaos, but were unsuccessful. Due to the damaged state of the area's hospitals, many patients were driven by ambulance or medevaced to nearby Erzurum, with some being transported as far as Ankara. However, a field hospital with 200 beds was set up. In the days after, international search and rescue teams were deployed to assist Turkish authorities. Countries such as Germany, France, Switzerland, the United States, and Iran sent specialized urban search and rescue (USAR) teams, many equipped with sniffer dogs, acoustic detection devices, and other tools for locating survivors trapped under rubble. Search and rescue teams had started to leave the affected area by March 19. Other countries such as Greece, Finland, and Sweden also donated equipment such as tents and planes. 20,000 blankets and 500,000 kg on of food were given out to the affected.Williams Pomonis Booth Vaciago 1992 93 The Turkish government provided interest-free loans to repair or reconstruct houses that were damaged or destroyed.Erdik Yüzügüllü Yılmaz Akkaş 1992 309 New hospitals, roads, and government offices were built following the earthquake. Additionally, retail and commercial areas along with water and sewage plants were fixed up.Williams Pomonis Booth Vaciago 1992 93 The provision of housing built following the earthquake is now listed by the Chamber of Civil Engineers in Turkey as one of the Fifty civil engineering feats in Turkey.Turkey Chamber of Civil Engineers 2007 See also List of earthquakes in 1992 List of earthquakes in Turkey Notes References 31 March 2023 Beşiktaş, TFF'ye rest çekiyor... Kulüpler ortadan bölündü, karar değişir mi? https://10haber.net/2023/04/01/besiktas-tffye-rest-cekiyor-kulupler-ortadan-bolundu-karar-degisir-mi-162653/ 10 June 2023 10Haber tr-TR OB 299638 Event: ERZINCAN, TURKEY https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/5317 National Geophysical Data Center Event: ERZINCAN, TURKEY https://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/hazel/view/hazards/earthquake/event-more-info/6510 National Geophysical Data Center Cowell Alan Turkey Digs Through Quake's Debris https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/15/world/turkey-digs-through-quake-s-debris.html NYTimes NYTimes 14 October 2025 https://web.archive.org/web/20250319020612/https://www.nytimes.com/1992/03/15/world/turkey-digs-through-quake-s-debris.html 19 March 2025 PAGER-CAT Earthquake Catalog https://earthquake.usgs.gov/static/lfs/data/pager/catalogs/ 4 September 2009 United States Geological Survey Version 2008_06.1 1992-03-14 Turkey Earthquake Mar 1992 UNDRO Information Reports 1-9 - Türkiye ReliefWeb https://reliefweb.int/report/turkey/turkey-earthquake-mar-1992-undro-information-reports-1-9 2025-04-26 reliefweb.int en 1992 Erzincan, Turkey earthquake of March 13, 1992 https://www.eeri.org/lfe/pdf/Turkey_Erzincan_Insert_May92.pdf Sources Preliminary determination of epicenters; monthly listing January-March 1992 1992 https://pubs.usgs.gov/of/1992/0600a/report.pdf 10.3133/ofr92600A USGS Open-File Report 2025-06-19 Yılda 50 Eser 2007 Turkey Chamber of Civil Engineers Turkey Chamber of Civil Engineers https://www.imo.org.tr/resimler/ekutuphane/pdf/16628_27_52.pdf 24 June 2025 5 June 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210605193021/https://www.imo.org.tr/resimler/ekutuphane/pdf/16628_27_52.pdf bot: unknown Akinci Aybige Malagnini Luca Herrmann Robert B. 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Buildings 2025 15 11 1884 10.3390/buildings15111884 free Utkucu Murat Durmuş Hatice Nalbant Süleyman Stress history controls the spatial pattern of aftershocks: case studies from strike-slip earthquakes International Journal of Earth Sciences 6 September 2016 106 6 1841–1861 10.1007/s00531-016-1389-x https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00531-016-1389-x 25 June 2025 subscription The Erzincan, Turkey earthquake of 13 March 1992 a field report by EEFIT 1992 https://www.istructe.org/IStructE/media/Public/Resources/report-eefit-erzincan-turkey-20190812.pdf Williams M.S. Pomonis A. Booth E. D. Vaciago G. Ring S. 2025-06-25 A preliminary report on the Erzincan earthquake, March 13, 1992 1993 Istanbul, Turkey https://eski.imo.org.tr/resimler/ekutuphane/pdf/11417.pdf Yarar R. Eisenberg J. Karadogan F. 2025-06-25 Proceedings of the Second Turkish National Conference in Earthquake Engineering External links 299638 Category:1992 earthquakes 1992 Erzincan Category:1992 in Turkey Category:History of Erzincan Province Category:March 1992 in Turkey Category:1992 disasters in Turkey