Local date | 11 January 1838[1] |
---|---|
Local time | 20:45 (EET) |
Duration | 3–5 minutes |
Magnitude | 7.3 Ms 7.5 Mw |
Epicenter | 45°43′N 26°43′E / 45.717°N 26.717°E |
Areas affected | Romania |
Max. intensity | MSK-64 IX (Destructive) |
Landslides | Yes |
Casualties | 73 dead, 14 injured |
The 1838 Vrancea earthquake struck the western part of Vrancea County on 23 January (O.S. 11 January)[2] with a magnitude of 7.5. The seism caused extensive damage in Moldavia and Wallachia, and killed dozens of people.[3] The earthquake occurred just 36 years after another earthquake of magnitude over 7 on Richter scale devastated the southern part of Wallachia.
The earthquake occurred at 20:45, being felt strongly in Bucharest and also all over the country up to Lviv, Sevastopol, Constantinople (Istanbul), Odessa, etc.[4] A detailed report on the phenomenon was promptly done by Güstav Schuller, mining geologist in the service of the Duke of Saxony. He said the quake had a foreshock followed by three strong shocks.[5]
During this earthquake, in some areas, especially the epicentral zone, mainly in Vrancea, Buzău, Brăila and Dâmbovița counties appeared large ground cracks and liquefaction phenomena.