The 1953 Yenice–Gönen earthquake occurred at 21:06 local time (19:06 UTC on 18 March in the province of

Çanakkale Çanakkale (pronounced ), ancient ''Dardanellia'' (), is a city and seaport in Turkey in Çanakkale province on the southern shore of the Dardanelles at their narrowest point. The population of the city is 195,439 (2021 estimate). Çanakkale is ...

and

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to ...

in the

Marmara Region The Marmara Region ( Turkish: ''Marmara Bölgesi'') is a geographical region of Turkey. Located in northwestern Turkey, it is bordered by Greece and the Aegean Sea to the west, Bulgaria and the Black Sea to the north, the Black Sea Region to th ...

at western

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. It had a surface wave magnitude of 7.5 and a maximum felt intensity of IX (''Violent'') on the Mercalli intensity scale. 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 The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate that includes most of the continent of Eurasia (a landmass consisting of the traditional continents of Europe and Asia), with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent and ...

and the

Arabian Plate The Arabian Plate is a minor tectonic plate in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres. It is one of the three continental plates (along with the African and the Indian Plates) that have been moving northward in geological history and colliding ...

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 district of Balıkesir Province of Turkey, in the southern part of Marmara Sea. The town is mostly known for its therapeutic hot springs, leather processing and rice production. Location The town is surrounded by Bandırma in the nort ...

, 20 in

Çan Çan is a town and district of Çanakkale Province in the Marmara region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the ...

, and 3 in

Manyas Manyas is a town and district of Balıkesir Province in the Marmara region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on th ...

. 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 Sakarya may refer to: Places * Sakarya Province, in Turkey ** Sakarya (electoral district) ** Sakarya University * Sakarya (continent), a small continent 90 million years ago * Sakarya River, in Turkey * Sakarya, Polatlı, a village in Ankara Pr ...

(Adapazari), Bursa,

Edirne Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis ( Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders ...

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

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

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

. 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 events in Europe 1953 disasters in Turkey