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Country profile · USGS ComCat

Earthquakes in Romania

Romania has catalogued 186 M4+ earthquakes since 2005 (ranked 63rd of 187 countries), with the strongest reaching magnitude M7.7.

Romania ranks 63rd of 187 countries by catalogued seismic activity - a country with limited but non-zero seismic activity, averaging about 9 M4+ events a year alongside 11 significant M6+ earthquakes since 1900. Severity outweighs frequency here: 36% of its M6+ record sits at M7 or above.

186
M4+ events (since 2005)
11
Major M6+ (since 1900)
M7.7
Strongest
~9
M4+ per year

The verdict

Romania is moderately seismically active, above the global median, with 186 M4+ earthquakes logged since 2005 and 11 major M6+ events since 1900, the strongest reaching magnitude 7.7.

1940
busiest year (2 major events)
100 km
average recorded event depth
9%
of events are shallow (<70 km, the most damaging kind)

Average catalogued magnitude is 4.4 - most events are moderate M4-5 tremors that are felt but rarely cause damage. On the M4+ activity ladder Morocco sits immediately above at 188 events and Saint Helena sits immediately below at 185.

Follow Romania events (RSS)

Catalog event strip

Event tape ROMANIA · Romania M4+ · 63rd/187

Romania · 186 M4+ · max M7.7 · 11 M6+

  • STRIP 186
  • BOOK 63rd/187
  • RANK M7.7
  • MAX 11
  • M6 near Morocco
  • DEPTH 9% shallow

Stamps derive from this country's USGS ComCat row (M4+ book, rank, peak magnitude, M6+ record, ladder neighbour, depth/peak year), not a hazard forecast. PlainQuake is informational only - not professional advice and not a substitute for official USGS guidance. See our disclaimer. Verify with USGS ComCat → · Read with methodology → · How earthquakes are measured → · Reading earthquake data → · All country catalog rows → · Countries ranked →

Observed impact record

What ComCat observed after earthquakes in Romania

USGS recorded Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) for 5 events in this catalogued record; their average observed intensity was MMI 6.8. These are only events with an observation, not an estimate of future shaking or a safety rating.

MMI observations
5
Average observed MMI
6.8
PAGER alerts / tsunami flags
0 / 0

Source: USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) GeoJSON impact fields. Missing MMI, alert, and tsunami values remain unreported rather than being treated as zero.

1. Saint Helena1852. Romania1863. Morocco1884. Iraq1905. South Africa1916. Mongolia196
M4+ catalog count for Romania and nearest-count peers. Source: USGS ComCat, 2005–present.

Where Romania sits in the catalog

Rank 63rd of 187 tracked countries (66th percentile by M4+ count since 2005). On the M4+ activity ladder Morocco sits immediately above at 188 events and Saint Helena sits immediately below at 185.

Romania's M4+ count vs. every tracked country

Total catalogued M4+ events since 2005, USGS ComCat

186 Top 34% higher than 66% of 187 countries

0–500: 143 countries (76%). This entry sits in this band. 500–1,000: 11 countries (6%). Above this entry. 1,000–1,500: 5 countries (3%). Above this entry. 1,500–2,000: 5 countries (3%). Above this entry. 2,000–2,500: 1 countries (1%). Above this entry. 2,500–3,000: 1 countries (1%). Above this entry. 3,000–3,500: 2 countries (1%). Above this entry. 3,500–4,000: 1 countries (1%). Above this entry. 4,000–4,500: 2 countries (1%). Above this entry. 4,500–5,000: 4 countries (2%). Above this entry. 5,000–5,500: 12 countries (6%). Above this entry. Romania 0 5,000+ every tracked country, bucketed by value

Each bar is a 500-wide band; taller bars hold more countries. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) · 2005-present

Major (M6+) earthquakes in Romania by year

Count of significant (magnitude 6.0+) events catalogued each year

Value

What this shows Romania's most active year for major earthquakes was 1940 (2 M6+ events). Major-quake counts are irregular, they track the episodic release of tectonic stress, not a smooth trend.

Source USGS Comprehensive Earthquake Catalog (ComCat) As of 2005–present
0%100%0%
Share of Romania's M4+ catalog that reached significant M6+ severity

0 of 186 catalogued M4+ events since 2005 reached M6.0 or higher.

Magnitude distribution of major events

Breakdown of the 11 significant (M6+) earthquakes on record for Romania.

How the 11 total breaks down by magnitude M6.0-6.9 is the largest share -- 63.6%

M7.0-7.9

4

36.4%

M6.0-6.9

7

63.6%

Depth of major earthquakes

Hypocentral depth of the 11 M6+ events, shallow quakes shake the surface hardest. Average depth: 100 km.

Romania9.1%90.9%Shallow (<70 km)Intermediate (70-300 km)Deep (>300 km)
Depth distribution of Romania's M6+ events, USGS ComCat

Shallow (<70 km)

1

9.1% of events

Intermediate (70–300 km)

10

90.9% of events

Deep (>300 km)

0

0.0% of events

Strongest earthquakes in Romania

The 10 most powerful events on record (USGS, since 1900).

Mag Location Depth
7.7 13 km ESE of Comand?u, Romania 150.0 km
7.5 2 km N of Spulber, Romania 94.0 km
7.2 7 km NNE of Ca?oca, Romania 132.3 km
7.0 5 km W of Nistore?ti, Romania 89.3 km
6.7 6 km SW of P?ule?ti, Romania 105.0 km
6.7 7 km WNW of Nereju Mic, Romania 85.9 km
6.6 12 km NNW of Gura Teghii, Romania 130.0 km
6.6 11 km E of Ghelinţa, Romania 130.0 km
6.4 1 km SE of Bruiu, Romania 15.0 km
6.3 2 km SSW of N?ruja, Romania 88.2 km

Significant earthquake record (11 events)

Every catalogued magnitude-6.0-and-above earthquake in Romania since 1900, most recent first.

Mag Location Depth
6.3 2 km SSW of N?ruja, Romania 88.2 km
7.0 5 km W of Nistore?ti, Romania 89.3 km
7.2 7 km NNE of Ca?oca, Romania 132.3 km
7.5 2 km N of Spulber, Romania 94.0 km
6.7 7 km WNW of Nereju Mic, Romania 85.9 km
7.7 13 km ESE of Comand?u, Romania 150.0 km
6.6 12 km NNW of Gura Teghii, Romania 130.0 km
6.7 6 km SW of P?ule?ti, Romania 105.0 km
6.4 1 km SE of Bruiu, Romania 15.0 km
6.0 3 km WNW of Matca, Romania 85.0 km
6.6 11 km E of Ghelinţa, Romania 130.0 km

Other countries in this catalog sample

A Romania-keyed shuffle of the full 186-country roster, not the six nearest by count.

Switzerland

12 M4+ events · strongest M4.5

M4.5

Uzbekistan

101 M4+ events · strongest M5.7

M5.7

Federated States of Micronesia

59 M4+ events · strongest M6.3

M6.3

Austria

11 M4+ events · strongest M4.2

M4.2

Timor Leste

3,429 M4+ events · strongest M7.3

M7.3

Malaysia

37 M4+ events · strongest M7.1

M7.1

Peak-magnitude sample from the same roster

A second Romania-keyed shuffle of countries with a recorded max magnitude.

Showing 6 of 186 countries with a recorded max magnitude.

South Korea

15 M4+ events

M5.5

Guyana

12 M4+ events

M5.5

Grenada

19 M4+ events

M5.5

Namibia

20 M4+ events

M5.4

Gabon

12 M4+ events

M5.5

Madagascar

38 M4+ events

M5.7

According to the US Geological Survey Earthquake Hazards Program, PlainQuake's figures are rendered directly from 317,293 recorded M4+ earthquakes and 14,444 significant M6+ events (USGS ComCat, 2005-present) -- no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-08-26.