2011 a powerful 7
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2011 15 years ago Historical Events October 23 2 sources

A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Van Province, Turkey, killing 582 people and injuring thousands.

On October 23, in the year 2011, A powerful 7.2 magnitude earthquake strikes Van Province, Turkey, killing 582 people and injuring thousands. This event is recorded as a Historical Events event in the history of October 23, one of 492 recorded events on this date across all of history.

The 2011 Van earthquakes occurred in eastern Turkey near the city of Van. The first earthquake happened on 23 October at 13:41 local time. The shock had a Mww magnitude of 7.1 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe). It occurred at a shallow depth, causing heavy shaking across much of eastern Turkey and lighter tremors across neighboring parts of the South Caucasus and Levant. According to Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency on 30 October, the earthquake killed 604 and injured 4,152. At least 11,232 buildings sustained damage in the region, 6,017 of which were found to be uninhabitable. The uninhabitable homes left as much as 8,321 households with an average household population of around 7.6 homeless in the province; this could mean that at least around 60,000 people were left homeless. The other 5,215 have been damaged but are habitable. A separate earthquake within the same earthquake system happened on 9 November at 21:23 local time. 38 people were killed and 260 people were injured in the 9 November earthquake.

Key Facts

  • This event took place on October 23, 2011 (AD era).
  • It is categorised as a Historical Events event in recorded history.
  • Referenced in 2 Wikipedia articles.
  • The event is associated with a specific geographical location (see map below).
  • Wikipedia source last updated on 27 July 2026.

On This Date in History 492

Type Year Date Event
Notable Deaths 2025 Oct 23 June Lockhart, American actress (b. 1925)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 23 Geoff Capes, British shot putter and strongman (born 1949)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 23 Gary Indiana, American writer, playwright and poet (born 1950)
Notable Deaths 2024 Oct 23 Jack Jones, American singer and actor (born 1938)
Notable Deaths 2023 Oct 23 Aira Samulin, Finnish entrepreneur and dance teacher (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2023 Oct 23 Bishan Singh Bedi, Indian cricketer (born 1946)
Historical Events 2022 Oct 23 Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party by the Central Committee, beginning a third…
Historical Events 2022 Oct 23 Myanmar Air Force airstrikes a concert in Hpakant Township, Kachin state killing at least 80 people, including senior…
Notable Deaths 2022 Oct 23 Adriano Moreira, Portuguese politician, Minister of the Overseas Provinces, President of the CDS – People's Party…
Selected Events 2022 Oct 23 Myanmar civil war: Burmese military forces launched airstrikes that killed at least 80 concertgoers in Kachin State.
Selected Events 2022 Oct 23 Pakistani journalist Arshad Sharif is shot and killed by local police in Kajiado, Kenya.
Historical Events 2020 Oct 23 Second Libyan Civil War: The Second Libyan Civil War comes to an end as all parties to the 5+5 Joint Libyan Military…
Notable Deaths 2020 Oct 23 Jerry Jeff Walker, American singer-songwriter (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2018 Oct 23 Todd Reid, Australian tennis player (born 1984)
Selected Events 2018 Oct 23 An escalator accident in Rome left 24 people injured, mostly fans of the CSKA Moscow football team who were in town…
Historical Events 2017 Oct 23 War against the Islamic State: Philippine defense secretary Delfin Lorenzana declares the end of the Siege of Marawi.
Notable Deaths 2017 Oct 23 Walter Lassally, German cinematographer (born 1926)
Notable Deaths 2016 Oct 23 Jack Chick, American cartoonist and publisher (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2016 Oct 23 Wim van der Voort, Dutch speed skater (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2016 Oct 23 Pete Burns, English singer-songwriter (born 1959)
Historical Events 2015 Oct 23 The lowest sea-level pressure in the Western Hemisphere, and the highest reliably-measured non-tornadic sustained…
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 23 Leon Bibb, American-Canadian singer (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 23 Roger De Clerck, Belgian businessman (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 23 Jim Roberts, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (born 1940)
Notable Deaths 2015 Oct 23 Fred Sands, American businessman and philanthropist, co-founded the Museum of Contemporary Art (born 1938)
Selected Events 2015 Oct 23 Hurricane Patricia, the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Western Hemisphere, peaked with maximum…
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 Ghulam Azam, Bangladeshi politician (born 1922)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 John Bramlett, American football player (born 1941)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 Bernard Mayes, English-American journalist and academic (born 1929)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 Joan Quigley, American astrologer and author (born 1927)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 Tullio Regge, Italian physicist and academic (born 1931)
Notable Deaths 2014 Oct 23 Alvin Stardust, English singer and actor (born 1942)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 23 Wes Bialosuknia, American basketball player (born 1945)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 23 Anthony Caro, English sculptor and academic (born 1924)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 23 Niall Donohue, Irish hurler (born 1990)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 23 Gypie Mayo, English guitarist and songwriter (Dr. Feelgood and The Yardbirds) (born 1951)
Notable Deaths 2013 Oct 23 Bill Mazer, Ukrainian-American journalist and sportscaster (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 23 William Joel Blass, American lawyer and politician (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 23 Wilhelm Brasse, Polish photographer (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 23 Roland de la Poype, French soldier and pilot (born 1920)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 23 Sunil Gangopadhyay, Indian author and poet (born 1934)
Notable Deaths 2012 Oct 23 Michael Marra, Scottish singer-songwriter (born 1952)
Historical Events 2011 Oct 23 The Libyan National Transitional Council deems the Libyan Civil War over.
Historical Events 2011 Oct 23 Motorcycle racer Marco Simoncelli dies in a racing accident at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 23 Herbert A. Hauptman, American chemist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
Notable Deaths 2011 Oct 23 Marco Simoncelli, Italian motorcycle racer (born 1987)
Selected Events 2011 Oct 23 During the Malaysian motorcycle Grand Prix, Marco Simoncelli (pictured) collided with two other riders, resulting in…
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 23 Fran Crippen, American swimmer (born 1984)
Notable Deaths 2010 Oct 23 Stanley Tanger, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Tanger Factory Outlet Centers (born 1923)
Notable Deaths 2009 Oct 23 Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor (born 1913)

This article draws on content from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

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