The strongest earthquake recorded in 20th-century Romania, felt across over 2,000,000 km² from Leningrad to Greece.
Key Facts
- Magnitude
- 7.7 Mw
- Epicenter depth
- 133 km
- Maximum intensity area
- 80,000 km²
- Macroseismic effects area
- 2,000,000+ km²
- Farthest effects (north)
- Leningrad, ~1,300 km away
- Time of occurrence
- 03:39 local time, Sunday
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake originated in the Vrancea seismic zone, a tectonically active area in the Eastern Carpathians of Romania where subduction-related stresses generate deep intermediate-focus earthquakes. The focus lay at approximately 133 km depth, characteristic of the Vrancea zone's seismogenic slab.
On 10 November 1940 at 03:39 local time, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck Romania with its epicenter in the Vrancea zone. Occurring while most of the population was asleep at home, the quake produced maximum intensities across an 80,000 km² area and was the strongest earthquake recorded in Romania during the 20th century.
Seismic effects were felt across an enormous region exceeding 2,000,000 km², reaching as far north as Leningrad, east to the Kharkov–Moscow line, south to Greece, and west to Belgrade, Budapest, and Warsaw. The widespread shaking caused significant damage and casualties across Romania and neighboring regions.