The 1986 Vrancea earthquake killed over 150 people and damaged more than 50,000 homes, making it the second deadliest earthquake worldwide that year.
Key Facts
- Date and time (UTC)
- August 30, 1986 at 21:28 UTC
- Deaths
- More than 150 people
- Injured
- Over 500 people
- Homes damaged
- Over 50,000 homes
- Magnitude (Mw, Ulomov)
- 7.1 Mw
- Epicenter
- Vrancea Mountains, central Romania
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The earthquake originated from reverse faulting with some strike-slip motion along the seismically active Vrancea subduction zone in the Eastern Carpathians, a region historically prone to intermediate-depth seismic events. The focal mechanism was described as moderately well controlled, consistent with the compressional tectonic setting of the area.
On August 30, 1986, at 21:28 UTC, a major earthquake struck central Romania with an epicenter in the Vrancea Mountains. Reported magnitudes ranged from 6.5 on the Richter scale to Mw 7.1 depending on the source. The seismic event was felt across a broad region stretching north to Poland and south to Italy and Greece.
The earthquake killed more than 150 people and injured over 500, while damaging in excess of 50,000 homes across the affected region. It ranked as the second deadliest earthquake globally in 1986, behind the San Salvador earthquake, and was recorded as the second largest seismic event in the Vrancea area since modern earthquake monitoring equipment was introduced.
Human Cost
Each dot represents approximately 10,000 deaths. Total estimated: 150 (earthquake)