Romania was rocked by the strongest earthquake in Southeast Europe in history, the epicenter was in the Eastern Carpathians, Vrancea County, Romania, and had a magnitude of about 7.2 on the Richter scale.
The hypocenter was located at a depth of 94 km. The quake destroyed over 8,500 buildings and killed over 1,600 people in Romania and Bulgaria. The earthquake in Bulgaria was felt most strongly in Svishtov, where over 100 people died under the rubble of the buildings. Apartment blocks on ul. “33rd Svishtov Regiment”, “Svilosa” dormitory, “Rudmetal” administrative building. The commercial high school, “Dimitar Blagoev” school, the cannery, and the “St. Trinity” church, built by Kolyo Ficheto, were seriously damaged.
The reason for the strong destructive power is the unfavorable direction of the earthquake's epicenter, poor engineering and geological conditions, and poor-quality construction.