Registering a surface-wave magnitude of 7.0,[3] the earthquake originated from a highly active seismic zone.

It killed 3,500 people and 20,000 animals, destroyed 12,000 homes, and is now listed among Turkey's deadliest earthquakes in recorded history.

The country of Turkey is situated on a highly active section of the Eurasian plate boundary.

This zone of continental collision reaches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Himalaya Mountains and beyond; dating back to the Paleogene period.

In the 20th century, 58 major destructive earthquakes took place – in total, they have killed more than 100,000 people, injured 150,000, and desolated approximately 420,000 homes and buildings.