MUŞ — 1966 · Major Tragedy

1966 Varto Earthquake

At 14:22 on 19 August 1966, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake struck the Varto district of Muş. It killed 2,394 people and injured 1,489. Almost every structure in Varto was destroyed, and surrounding villages as well as the Hınıs district of Erzurum suffered heavy damage. The area had been shaken once already that year: an earthquake of magnitude 5.6 on 7 March 1966 had killed 14 people and injured 75. In a rural region dominated by mud-brick and stone masonry buildings, the August shock flattened villages that had not yet recovered from the first. The army and the Red Crescent took part in relief operations, and Varto was largely rebuilt in the following years. The disaster is remembered as one of the events that exposed how vulnerable the rural building stock of Eastern Anatolia was to earthquakes.

Date

1966

Place

Varto, Muş

Category

Major Tragedy

Case Status

Closed

Coordinates

39.1700, 41.4500 ↗

🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.