List of earthquakes in Bulgaria


This list of earthquakes in Bulgaria is organized by date and includes events that caused injuries/fatalities, historic quakes, as well events that are notable for other reasons.
Key
NameDateEpicentreMMIDepth NotesDeathsInjuries
1802 Vrancea earthquake1802101400001802-10-14Vrancea Mountains, Romania7.9VIIIThe cities of Ruse, Silistra, Varna and Vidin were almost completely destroyed.
1818 Sofia earthquake1818042500001818-04-25near Sofia6.0VII
1838 Vrancea earthquake1838011100001838-01-11Vrancea Mountains, Romania7.5VIIFelt across much of the country, damage reported in northern Bulgaria.
1858 Sofia earthquake1858093000001858-09-30near Sofia6.6IX70-80% of buildings in Sofia suffered damage.4
1901 Black Sea earthquake1901033100001901-03-31off Cape Kaliakra7.2XMore than 1,200 houses destroyed. Quake generated a 4–5 m high tsunami that devastated coastal communities on both sides of the Bulgarian-Romanian border.450+
1904 Kresna earthquakes1904040400001904-04-04near Krupnik7.2 One of the largest shallow 20th century earthquakes on land in the Balkans, preceded by a very powerful 7.1 foreshock. Felt as far away as Budapest, Hungary.200+
1908 Gorna Oryahovitza earthquake1908011000001908-01-10near Gorna Oryahovitza7.0First quake locally measured via seismograph, after one was installed in Sofia in 1905.
1909 Gorna Oryahovitza earthquake1909041400001909-04-14near Gorna Oryahovitza7.0
1913 Ruse earthquake1913061400001913-06-14southwest of Ruse6.637
1928 Chirpan earthquakes1928041400001928-04-14near Chirpan7.1 and 7.1IXFollowed by a 7.1 aftershock at a depth of 15.0 km on April 18. More than 26,000 buildings were destroyed, another 21,000 were severely damaged.107500
1942 Razgrad earthquake1942031700001942-03-17near Razgrad5.1Large parts of the city were damaged.
1977 Vrancea earthquake1977030400001977-03-04Vrancea Mountains, Romania7.2VIIIMost casualties occurred in Svishtov when several apartment buildings collapsed. Widely felt across the entire country, with minor damage reported as far south as Plovdiv.120165
1977 Velingrad earthquake1977110300001977-11-03near Velingrad5.2VINearly 800 buildings were damaged across several counties.
1986 Strazhitsa earthquake1986120700001986-12-07near Strazhitsa5.6VII80% of buildings in Strazhitsa were deemed 'uninhabitable' after the quake, with 150 being completely destroyed. The town was later rebuilt.380
1990 Vrancea earthquakes1990053000001990-05-30Vrancea Mountains, Romania6.7VModerate damage in northeastern Bulgaria. Main event was followed by a 6.1 aftershock on May 31.1
2004 Vrancea earthquake2004102700002004-10-27Vrancea Mountains, Romania6.0VFelt across the country, some damage reported in northeastern Bulgaria.
2012 Pernik earthquake2012052700002012-05-22near Pernik5.6VICaused at least €11,000,000 worth of damage, mostly in Pernik, and to a lesser degree in the capital Sofia.1
2014 Aegean Sea earthquake2014052400002014-05-24Aegean Sea6.9VWidely felt across southern Bulgaria, minor damage reported in areas close to the Greek border.

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