The 1953 Yenice–Gönen earthquake occurred at 21:06 local time (19:06 UTC on 18 March in the province of Çanakkale and Balıkesir in the Marmara Region at western

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. It had a surface-wave magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (''Violent'') on the

Mercalli intensity scale The Modified Mercalli intensity scale (MM, MMI, or MCS) measures the effects of an earthquake at a given location. This is in contrast with the seismic magnitude usually reported for an earthquake. Magnitude scales measure the inherent force or ...

. It caused widespread damage, killing 1,070 and causing damage that was estimated at US$3,570,000 repair value.

Tectonic setting

The tectonics of northern and eastern Turkey are dominated by the two strike-slip fault zones that accommodate the west to southwestward movement of the Anatolian Plate relative to the Eurasian plate and the Arabian plate as it is effectively being squeezed out by convergence between them. The quake occurred along the Yenice–Gönen Fault, which is a southern extension of the North Anatolian Fault Zone.

Damage and casualties

The quake had a surface-wave magnitude of 7.5 and it killed at least 1,070; 998 of those deaths were in Yenice, with another 50 in

Gönen Gönen is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Balıkesir Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,162 km2, and its population is 74,871 (2022). It lies on the southern part of Marmara Sea. The town is mostly known for its therapeutic h ...

, 20 in

Çan Çan is a town in Çanakkale Province in the Marmara Region, Marmara region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çan District.

, and 3 in Manyas. The cost of repair was estimated at US$3,570,000. Several thousand buildings were affected in the Can-Yenice-Gonen area. Damage of intensity VI occurred at Sakarya (Adapazarı), Bursa,

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. The quake was felt throughout the Aegean Islands and in much of mainland Greece, with damage occurring as far away as

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

. Shaking was also recorded in Bulgaria. Although officials predicted the earthquake would cause only 265 deaths, it multiplied with a death toll seven times the number as expected.

Characteristics

Approximately of surface faulting occurred, with as much as of strike-slip (horizontal) faulting was observed by geologists east of Yenice.

Aftermath

The damage caused by this earthquake led to a new national reconstruction law in Turkey. In Greece the damage was severe enough that new building codes were introduced.

Future seismic hazard

Trenching and other fieldwork along the trace of the Yenice–Gönen Fault has identified three earthquakes before the 1953 event, about 1440 AD, between 620 and 1270 AD, and another event of uncertain age. These past events give a mean recurrence interval for large earthquakes of 660±160 years. This indicates that there is no significant current threat from ruptures along this fault zone.

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yenice Gonen 1953 1953 Yenice 1953 earthquakes 1953 in Turkey History of Çanakkale Province History of Balıkesir Province March 1953 in Europe 1953 disasters in Turkey Strike-slip earthquakes