This is a list of earthquakes in Romania, including any notable historical earthquakes that have epicenters within the current boundaries of Romania, or which caused significant effects in this area.
Seismic hazard
The seismicity of Romania is clustered in several epicentral zones: Vrancea, Făgăraș-Câmpulung, Banat, Crișana, Maramureș, and Southern Dobrogea.[1][2] Other epicentral zones of local importance can be found in Transylvania, in the area of Jibou and Târnava River, in the northern and western part of Oltenia, in northern Moldova, and the Wallachian Plain.[3] The Vrancea seismogenic zone is the most important among these seismic zones, having in mind the energy, the extent of the macroseismic effects, and the persistent and confined character of the earthquakes that occur in this area. The Vrancea area is responsible for over 90% of all earthquakes in Romania, releasing over 95% of the seismic energy.[4] Two belts of moderate and shallower seismicity are emphasized in the other regions of the country: one along the Southern Carpathians and the eastern edge of the Pannonian Basin, the other along the Eastern Carpathians that extends towards SE on the Peceneaga–Camena line.[5][6][7]
During the last 1,000 years, according to historical data, it is thought that 17 earthquakes of 7 and over magnitude have occurred, which suggests a means for unleashing the energy every 58 years. Statistically, the magnitude 6 and over earthquakes in the Vrancea area occur approximately every 10 years, with magnitude 7 every 33 years, while those with 7.5 magnitudes every 80 years.[8]
Earthquakes
Earthquakes listed in the following tables include only M6.0+ events or earthquakes with significant material damage or casualties. All seismic events are shown in detail in the ROMPLUS catalog of the National Institute for Earth Physics. It collected information from the catalog of Constantinescu and Mîrza (1980) for the period 984–1997. After 1997, the catalog was permanently filled and updated with data on seismic events produced in Romania and around national borders.
Parts of the Royal Palace, walls of the Citadel of Angevins and many other buildings in Temesvár collapse.[12] The St. Ladislau Cathedral in Várad is destroyed.[13]
Light damage reported in Meggyes. The pillars of Evangelical Church in Sebeș collapse.[15]Album Oltardianum indicates 20 houses collapsed in Sibiu, while the Chronicle of Hutter reports many deaths among old population.[16]
26 October 1550
6.5
VII–X
Large earthquake in southern Transylvania.
10 August 1590
6.5
VII–X
Large earthquake in southeastern Transylvania, with disastrous effects in Brașov, Râșnov, Sibiu and Mediaș.
5 May 1603
The strongest earthquake ever recorded inside the Carpathian arch. Also felt in Košice, Slovakia.[11]
Four mosques collapse in Nicopolis, the fortress of Niš, on the Serbian side of the Danube, reports significant damage. 11 monasteries, 15 houses, 15 towers and a church steeple collapse in Iași, while the walls and tower of the Prince's Court in Bucharest are destroyed.[17][18]
Chronicles and records of the Orthodox Church indicate extensive damage to churches and tall buildings in Bucharest. This is the strongest earthquake ever recorded in Romania, known by contemporary documents as "great earthquake of Good Friday". Felt on an area of 2 million km2. Despite its intensity, only four people were killed.
The earthquake occurs on Thursday morning, at 4 o'clock, causing great panic among population. In Bucharest, 150 stone houses are destroyed or severely damaged.[20] Felt over a very large area from Tisza to Bug and from Mureș to the Danube.[21]
73 deaths were recorded across the country, of which eight only in Bucharest.[23] In Wallachia, 217 churches collapsed or were severely damaged. A massive landslide barred the Bicaz River, forming the Red Lake.[24]
The earthquake had three explosive moments at an interval of three minutes. The last phase generated "frightening jolts" and "formidable underground rumble". It damaged old houses in Bucharest, eastern Wallachia and southern Moldavia.[27]
This was the strongest earthquake recorded in the 20th century in Romania. Its effects were devastating in central and southern Moldavia, but also in Wallachia. The death toll was estimated at 1,000, with an additional figure of 4,000 wounded, mostly in Moldavia.[29] The earthquake was felt in Bucharest, where there were about 300 deaths, mostly from the collapse of Carlton Bloc.[30]
Officially, two dead and 558 injured.[34] In Chișinău, four apartment buildings collapsed, resulting in at least 100 casualties. In Bucharest, 50 workers were killed in the basement of a building, crushed by piles of rubble. The information was never confirmed. Over 50,000 houses were damaged.[35]
14 dead and 362 injured.[36] Severe damage reported on large areas in Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria. Munich Re indicates economic losses of US$30 million.[37]
5,000 rural buildings and a monumental church of German architecture are damaged.[38] 2 dead, 30 injured, hundreds to thousands displaced due to severe damage to buildings.[39]
Cracks in walls and roads were reported in Galați and Tulcea.[42] Telephone network and power supply were disrupted in epicentral area. One man was injured in Tulcea. Eight people were injured in Galați[43] and five hypertensive people in Brăila needed medical care because of panic attacks.[44]
In Iași, a young man jumped out a window, suffering a fracture, and an old woman hurt herself in her house, while 12 people suffered panic attacks.[45]
In Bucharest, an old house was slightly damaged.[46] The Bucharest–Ilfov Ambulance Service registered 25 calls for panic attacks. Power supply was briefly disrupted in Întorsura Buzăului, close to the epicenter.[47]
22 localities affected in five counties – Gorj, Dolj, Hunedoara, Mehedinți and Vâlcea. Four people in Gorj injured by detached construction elements. 48 buildings slightly damaged in Târgu Jiu, close to the epicenter.[51]
The inclusion criteria for adding events are based on WikiProject Earthquakes' notability guideline that was developed for stand alone articles. The principles described are also applicable to lists. In summary, only damaging, injurious, or deadly events should be recorded.
^Lungu, D.; Aldea, A.; Arion, C. (2008). "Romania's Seismicity and Seismic Hazard: From Historical Records to Design Codes". Harmonization of Seismic Hazard in Vrancea Zone. NATO Science for Peace and Security Series C: Environmental Security. Springer. pp. 1–16. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-9242-8_1. ISBN978-1-4020-9242-8.
^Sokolov, Vladimir Yu; Wenzel, Friedemann; Mohindra, Rakesh (2009), "Probabilistic seismic hazard assessment for Romania and sensitivity analysis: A case of joint consideration of intermediate-depth (Vrancea) and shallow (crustal) seismicity", Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering, 29 (2): 364–381, Bibcode:2009SDEE...29..364S, doi:10.1016/j.soildyn.2008.04.004
^Ardeleanu, L. et al. (2005) "Probabilistic seismic hazard map for Romania as a basis for a new building code". Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 5, 679–684
^Oncescu, M., Marza, V. I., Rizescu, M., and Popa, M. (1999). The Romanian earthquake catalogue between 984–1997, Vrancea Earthquakes: Tectonics, Hazard and Risk Mitigation (edited by F. Wenzel et al.), 43–47
^Atanasiu I., 1961. Earthquakes in Romania. Academia R.P.R., Bucharest, 194pp. (in Romanian)
^Radulian, M., Mândrescu, N., Panza, G.F., Popescu, E., Utale, A. (2000), Characterization of Seismogenic Zones of Romania, Pure appl. geophys. 157, 57–77
^Florinesco, A. (1958). Catalogue des tremblements de terre ressentis sul le territoire de la R.P.R. (in French). Bucharest: Romanian People's Republic Academy.
^Nussbächer, N. (1987). Din cronici și hrisoave. Contribuții la istoria Transilvaniei. Din cronica cutremurelor în Țara Bârsei (secolele XV–XX) (in Romanian). Kriterion. pp. 231–233.
^Constantinescu, L.; Marza, V. I. (1980). A computer-compiled and computer-oriented cataloque of Romania's earthquakes during a millenium (984–1979). Rev. Roum. Geologie, Geophysique et Geographie. pp. 193–234.
^E. S., Georgescu; A., Pomonis (15–16 November 2010). Human casualties due to the Vrancea, Romania earthquakes of 1940 and 1977: learning from past to prepare for future events. Mizunami: Mizunami International Symposium on Earthquake Casualties and Health Consequences.
^Romaniță, Maria (23 November 2014). "Panică după cutremur". Monitorul de Galați (in Romanian). Archived from the original on 4 February 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2014.