[6] In 1766, the rupture of the fault happened either under the Princes' Islands[5] or, more probably, under the Çınarcık Basin, since a more central break could not have caused the great tsunami that struck Istanbul and the Gulf of İzmit, although this had been produced by a submarine landslide.

[10] Mathematical models of this event using Coulomb stress transfer are consistent with a fault rupture whose length ranges from 70 to 120 km (43 to 75 mi).

[4] The earthquake was felt as far away as Aydın, Thessaloniki, on Mount Athos, Aytos in eastern Bulgaria and along the west coast of the Black Sea.

[11] The estimated area of significant damage (greater than the MCS VII grade (Very Strong)) extends from Bursa to Küçükçekmece,[12] but destruction occurred from Tekirdağ and Gelibolu to the west, İzmit to the east and Edirne to the north.

[10] In Istanbul, most of the mosques and churches were damaged, as was the Topkapı Palace: the sultan had to live in temporary housing until his home was restored.

[15] The panicking populace was unable to go back home, and people sheltered themselves in tents pitched in wide and open spaces.

[10] Since the earthquake struck the eastern part of the Sea of Marmara, serious damage was also recorded on the southern shore, from Mudanya to Karamürsel,[10] and the tsunami waves made the ports unusable.