The plate tectonics behind the country's earthquakes, the major events of the past century, how the state prepares and responds, and practical advice for residents and travellers.
Last reviewed on 27 September 2026.
Türkiye is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. Most of its territory lies on or beside active faults, and destructive earthquakes have struck every generation in living memory. That is not a reason to avoid the country — the vast majority of visitors never feel a tremor — but it is part of how Turkish cities are built, governed and talked about, and it is worth understanding both the science and the practical precautions.
Most of Anatolia sits on a relatively small block of the Earth's crust called the Anatolian plate (or Anatolian microplate). To its south-east, the Arabian plate is moving north into Eurasia. Caught in this collision, the Anatolian block is being squeezed out sideways, moving westward at a rate of a couple of centimetres a year and rotating slightly anticlockwise towards the Aegean. The boundaries where it slides past its neighbours are the country's great faults.
About 1,500 km long, running from the eastern highlands near Karlıova, parallel to the Black Sea coast, through Erzincan, Tokat, Bolu and Düzce, and into the Sea of Marmara south of Istanbul. A right-lateral strike-slip fault — the two sides slide past each other horizontally — comparable in type to California's San Andreas.
Runs south-west from the same junction near Karlıova, through Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya and Kahramanmaraş towards Hatay and the Mediterranean. A left-lateral strike-slip fault forming the boundary between the Anatolian and Arabian plates. It ruptured over a length of several hundred kilometres in February 2023.
In the Aegean region the crust is being stretched, producing east–west valleys (grabens) such as the Gediz and Büyük Menderes, bounded by normal faults. This is why İzmir, Denizli and the surrounding area have frequent moderate earthquakes and many hot springs.
Offshore to the south-west, the African plate descends beneath the Aegean along the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs, adding further seismic activity around the Mediterranean and Aegean coasts. Smaller active faults are spread across central and eastern Anatolia, including around Lake Van.
One well-studied pattern is the westward progression of large ruptures along the North Anatolian Fault in the 20th century. Beginning with Erzincan in 1939, a sequence of major earthquakes broke successive segments further west over six decades, reaching İzmit and Düzce in 1999. The segment under the Sea of Marmara, near Istanbul, is one of the parts that has not produced a large earthquake since that sequence began, which is the basis for scientific concern about the city.
The list below is not exhaustive; it covers the events most often referred to in Turkish public discussion. Magnitudes are approximate, since different agencies report slightly different values, and casualty figures are those generally cited from official sources.
| Date | Event | Magnitude (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 1939 | Erzincan | about 7.8 | Struck on a winter night; roughly 33,000 deaths. The deadliest Turkish earthquake of the 20th century and the start of the westward sequence on the North Anatolian Fault. |
| 17 August 1999 | İzmit (Gölcük), Kocaeli | about 7.6 | Struck at around 3 a.m. in the industrial heartland east of Istanbul. Officially over 17,000 deaths; widespread collapse of apartment blocks in Kocaeli, Sakarya, Yalova and parts of Istanbul, and a major fire at the Tüpraş refinery. |
| 12 November 1999 | Düzce | about 7.2 | Three months later, on the next segment to the east; several hundred deaths. |
| 23 October 2011 | Van (Erciş) | about 7.1 | Over 600 deaths, followed in November by a smaller but deadly aftershock in Van's Edremit district that brought down hotels. |
| 30 October 2020 | Aegean Sea (İzmir / Samos) | about 7.0 | Centred offshore north of the Greek island of Samos. Over 100 deaths in Türkiye, most in collapsed buildings in İzmir's Bayraklı district, far from the epicentre, because of soft ground and vulnerable structures. |
| 6 February 2023 | Kahramanmaraş doublet | about 7.8 and 7.5 | Two major earthquakes nine hours apart on the East Anatolian Fault system; the officially reported death toll in Türkiye was over 50,000, with many thousands more killed in Syria. See below. |
At about 4:17 a.m. local time, an earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.8 struck near Pazarcık in Kahramanmaraş province, rupturing the East Anatolian Fault over a length of around 300 km or more. At about 1:24 p.m. the same day, a second earthquake of roughly magnitude 7.5 struck near Elbistan, on a separate fault further north. Strong aftershocks continued for weeks, including a magnitude 6-plus event near Antakya on 20 February.
Eleven provinces were declared disaster areas: Kahramanmaraş, Hatay, Gaziantep, Malatya, Adıyaman, Adana, Osmaniye, Diyarbakır, Şanlıurfa, Kilis and Elazığ. Hatay — including the historic city of Antakya — Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman and Malatya were among the worst affected, with large parts of their urban centres destroyed. The officially reported death toll in Türkiye was over 50,000, making it the deadliest disaster in the history of the Republic; millions were displaced. Reconstruction of housing and infrastructure has been under way since, on a very large scale, and historic buildings in Antakya and elsewhere are being restored over a period of years.
The disaster prompted widespread public debate about construction quality, the enforcement of building codes, past construction amnesties (imar affı) that legalised non-compliant buildings, and the speed of the emergency response. Criminal cases were opened against contractors and others over collapsed buildings. These are politically charged subjects in Türkiye; different sides attribute responsibility differently.
AFAD (Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Başkanlığı, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) is the state body responsible for disaster preparedness, response and recovery. It was created in 2009 by merging several earlier agencies, partly in response to criticism of the coordination problems seen in 1999. AFAD operates a national seismic network and publishes earthquake reports, runs search-and-rescue teams, coordinates emergency shelter, and leads public education campaigns.
Two other names appear constantly in the news after a tremor. The Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute, part of Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, runs its own seismic network and publishes independent reports; AFAD and Kandilli sometimes give slightly different magnitudes for the same event, which is normal. Search and rescue is also carried out by volunteer organisations such as AKUT, alongside the fire services, the Turkish Red Crescent (Kızılay) and the armed forces.
The emergency telephone number throughout Türkiye is 112.
Türkiye has had seismic building regulations for decades, and they have been revised after major earthquakes — significantly in 1998, 2007 and most recently with the Turkish Building Earthquake Code (Türkiye Bina Deprem Yönetmeliği) that came into force in 2019. Modern buildings designed and built to these codes perform well. The problem, repeatedly identified by engineers, is the large stock of older buildings and of buildings that were not built or supervised to the standards in force at the time, and changes such as removed columns on ground floors for shops.
Since 2000, earthquake insurance for residential buildings within municipal boundaries has been compulsory through a state-backed pool, DASK (Doğal Afet Sigortaları Kurumu). A policy is normally required for utility connections and property transactions. It covers the building, not the contents, and payouts are capped, so many owners buy additional cover.
The government's urban transformation programme (kentsel dönüşüm) provides a legal framework and incentives for demolishing and rebuilding risky buildings. It has replaced many structures, particularly in Istanbul, though it is also debated for its pace, its reliance on developers and its social effects on existing residents.
Istanbul lies about 15–20 km north of the main strand of the North Anatolian Fault where it runs under the Sea of Marmara. Seismologists widely agree that this segment is capable of producing an earthquake of magnitude 7 or greater and that such an event is likely at some point in the coming decades, though no one can predict when. Published probability estimates vary between studies. A moderate earthquake of about magnitude 6.2 in the Marmara Sea in April 2025 was felt strongly across the city, and caused alarm but limited damage.
The city's risk depends heavily on the ground and the building. Districts on soft sediment or reclaimed land near the Marmara shore, such as parts of Avcılar, Bakırköy, Zeytinburnu and Fatih, are generally considered more vulnerable than areas on bedrock. Istanbul's municipal and national authorities publish risk maps and designate assembly areas (toplanma alanı), usually parks and school grounds, marked with green signs.
For a short-term visitor, the chance of experiencing a damaging earthquake is small. Sensible precautions take only a few minutes and are worth it.
Most of Türkiye sits on the Anatolian plate, which is being squeezed westward between the Arabian and Eurasian plates. Its edges, the North Anatolian and East Anatolian faults, and the stretching crust of the Aegean region produce frequent earthquakes.
The 6 February 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquakes, two events of about magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 on the same day. The officially reported death toll in Türkiye was over 50,000, with many more deaths in Syria.
Millions of people visit every year without experiencing a damaging earthquake, and the risk to a short-term visitor is small. Knowing the drop, cover, hold on method, keeping your address and documents handy, and following official guidance after any tremor are sensible precautions.
AFAD is the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, the Turkish state body responsible for disaster preparedness, response and recovery. It runs a national seismic network, publishes earthquake reports and coordinates search, rescue and shelter.
Seismologists widely expect the segment of the North Anatolian Fault under the Sea of Marmara to produce an earthquake of magnitude 7 or more at some point in the coming decades, but the timing cannot be predicted. Estimates of probability vary between studies.
Call 112, the single emergency number for ambulance, fire and police across Türkiye. Have your address written in Turkish so you can give it quickly.