1977 Bucharest earthquake

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Bucharest - Ienei Church - 1977

The 1977 Bucharest Earthquake occurred on Friday, 4 March 1977, 21:20 local time and was felt throughout the Balkans. It had a magnitude of 7.4 and its epicenter in Vrancea (in the Eastern Carpathians) at a depth of 94 kilometers.

The earthquake killed about 1,570 people and wounded more than 11,000. Among the victims was the Romanian actor Toma Caragiu. Nicolae Ceauşescu had to suspend his official trip to Nigeria.

About 35,000 buildings were damaged, and the total damage was estimated at more than two billion dollars. Most of the damage was concentrated in Romania's capital, Bucharest, where about 33 large buildings collapsed. Most of those buildings were built before World War II, and were not reinforced. Many of the historic buildings that collapsed were not rebuilt; instead, the land was cleared for the building of the Palace of the Parliament. After the earthquake, the Romanian government imposed tougher construction standards.

About 80% of the town of Zimnicea was destroyed. In Bulgaria, the earthquake is known as the Vrancea Earthquake or Svishtov Earthquake. Three blocks of flats in the Bulgarian town of Svishtov (near Zimnicea) collapsed, killing more than 100 people. Many other buildings were damaged, including the Church of the Holy Trinity.

1 Notable Romanians, victims of the earthquake
2 See also
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Notable Romanians, victims of the earthquake

Toma Caragiu, actor
Anatol Baconski, poet
Alexandru Ivasiuc, writer
Mihai Gafiţa, writer
Corneliu M. Popescu, poem translator
Alexandru Bocăneţ, film producer
Doina Badea, musician
Savin Bratu, literary critic
Daniela Caurea, poet
Mihail Petroveanu, literary critic
Veronica Porumbacu, poet
Eliza Petrăchescu, actress
Tudor Dumitrescu, pianist
Ioan Siadbei, literary critic
Mihaela Mărăcineanu, mezzo-soprano
Liviu Popa, film director
Florin Ciorăscu, physicist
Tudor Stavru, stunt man
Nicolae Vatamanu
Viorica Vizante

[edit] See also

The Bulgarian film Sweet and Sour was being aired by TVR and has remained linked to the earthquake in the mind of Romanians^[1].
On 10 November 1940, another earthquake had struck Bucharest with a Richter magnitude of 7,7.