Shallow M5.1 Earthquake struck on Saturday Morning near Van in Türkiye.

Written by Earthquakelist.org on April 4th, 2026. Last updated April 19th, 2026.

In the morning of Saturday April 4th, 2026, a shallow and significant Magnitude 5.1 earthquake hit under land 41 kilometer from Van in Türkiye. Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Iraq are also near its epicenter.

Earthquake Summary

The earthquake struck on land in Türkiye, 41 kilometer (25 mi) north of Van. The center of this earthquake had a very shallow depth of 10 km. Shallow earthquakes usually have a larger impact than earthquakes deep in the earth.

Date and Time:	Apr 4, 2026 08:52 (Istanbul Time) - Apr 4, 2026 05:52 Universal Time.
Location:	41 km north of Van, Türkiye. Coordinates 38°51'35"N 43°28'36"E.
Map:	Map of area around epicenter. Click to open in Google Maps.
Magnitude:	MAG 5.1 Detected by 18 stations. Maximum Error Range ±0.073 .
Depth:	10 km (6 mi) A very shallow depth.
Tsunami Risk:	Tsunami very unlikely While this was a shallow earthquake, it appears to have occurred under land with a magnitude not strong enough to cause tsunami's. Always stay cautious - More info here.

Impact

The US Geographic Survey (USGS) describes the impact of this earthquake as follows:

One person injured and at least one building damaged in the Ercis-Tusba area.

Nearby towns and cities

5 countries can be found within 300km of the epicenter of this earthquake: Türkiye , Iran , Armenia , Azerbaijan and Iraq .

Located 21 kilometer (13 mi) south-east of the epicenter of this earthquake, Erciş (Van, Türkiye) is the nearest significant population center.

Multiple major population centers exist within 300km of the earthquake that struck today. Van is located 41 km to the south. Al Mawşil al Jadīdah is located 283 km to the south. Yerevan is located 172 km to the north-east.

An overview of nearby towns and cities is available in the overview below.

Overview of nearby places

Cities and Towns around the epicenter of this earthquake.
Distance	Place
21 km (13 mi) NW from epicenter	Erciş Van, Türkiye.
41 km (25 mi) S from epicenter	Van Van, Türkiye.
65 km (40 mi) W from epicenter	Adilcevaz Bitlis, Türkiye.
67 km (42 mi) NW from epicenter	Patnos Ağrı, Türkiye.
78 km (48 mi) N from epicenter	Diyadin Ağrı, Türkiye.
87 km (54 mi) W from epicenter	Ahlat Bitlis, Türkiye.
87 km (54 mi) W from epicenter	Malazgirt Muş, Türkiye.
93 km (58 mi) NE from epicenter	Doğubayazıt Ağrı, Türkiye.
102 km (63 mi) N from epicenter	Ağrı Ağrı, Türkiye.
107 km (66 mi) W from epicenter	Bulanık Muş, Türkiye.
111 km (69 mi) W from epicenter	Tatvan Bitlis, Türkiye.
116 km (72 mi) SW from epicenter	Hizan Bitlis, Türkiye.
125 km (78 mi) NW from epicenter	Eleşkirt Ağrı, Türkiye.
128 km (80 mi) N from epicenter	Iğdır Iğdır, Türkiye.
129 km (80 mi) SW from epicenter	Bitlis Bitlis, Türkiye.
130 km (81 mi) NW from epicenter	Karaçoban Erzurum, Türkiye.
131 km (81 mi) W from epicenter	Güroymak Bitlis, Türkiye.
133 km (83 mi) E from epicenter	Khowy West Azerbaijan, Iran.
134 km (83 mi) E from epicenter	Qarah Ẕīā’ od Dīn West Azerbaijan, Iran.
134 km (83 mi) SE from epicenter	Salmās West Azerbaijan, Iran.
145 km (90 mi) S from epicenter	Hakkâri Hakkâri, Türkiye.
147 km (91 mi) N from epicenter	Kağızman Kars, Türkiye.
151 km (94 mi) NE from epicenter	Ararat Ararat, Armenia.
152 km (94 mi) N from epicenter	Armavir Armavir, Armenia.
153 km (95 mi) NE from epicenter	Artashat Ararat, Armenia.
160 km (99 mi) SE from epicenter	Yüksekova Hakkâri, Türkiye.
161 km (100 mi) NE from epicenter	Vagharshapat Armavir, Armenia.
164 km (102 mi) W from epicenter	Hınıs Erzurum, Türkiye.
169 km (105 mi) SW from epicenter	Siirt Siirt, Türkiye.
172 km (107 mi) NE from epicenter	Yerevan Yerevan, Armenia.
172 km (107 mi) E from epicenter	Nakhchivan Nakhichevan, Azerbaijan.
173 km (107 mi) W from epicenter	Muş Muş, Türkiye.
174 km (108 mi) SW from epicenter	Şırnak Şırnak, Türkiye.
177 km (110 mi) NE from epicenter	Ashtarak Aragatsotn, Armenia.
186 km (116 mi) NE from epicenter	Abovyan Kotayk, Armenia.
188 km (117 mi) SW from epicenter	Kurtalan Siirt, Türkiye.
189 km (117 mi) SW from epicenter	Kozluk Batman, Türkiye.
196 km (122 mi) N from epicenter	Kars Kars, Türkiye.
200 km (124 mi) SW from epicenter	Silopi Şırnak, Türkiye.
202 km (126 mi) S from epicenter	Zaxo Duhok, Iraq.
202 km (126 mi) SE from epicenter	Orūmīyeh West Azerbaijan, Iran.
204 km (127 mi) SW from epicenter	Cizre Şırnak, Türkiye.
205 km (127 mi) E from epicenter	Marand East Azerbaijan, Iran.
217 km (135 mi) N from epicenter	Gyumri Shirak, Armenia.
218 km (135 mi) NE from epicenter	Gavar Gegharkunik, Armenia.
222 km (138 mi) NW from epicenter	Erzurum Erzurum, Türkiye.
226 km (140 mi) S from epicenter	Dihok Duhok, Iraq.
229 km (142 mi) W from epicenter	Silvan Diyarbakır, Türkiye.
231 km (144 mi) SW from epicenter	Batman Batman, Türkiye.
231 km (144 mi) S from epicenter	Sīnah Duhok, Iraq.
233 km (145 mi) N from epicenter	Vanadzor Lori, Armenia.
246 km (153 mi) SW from epicenter	Midyat Mardin, Türkiye.
256 km (159 mi) E from epicenter	Kapan Syunik, Armenia.
258 km (160 mi) W from epicenter	Bingöl Bingöl, Türkiye.
259 km (161 mi) N from epicenter	Ardahan Ardahan, Türkiye.
260 km (162 mi) E from epicenter	Tabriz East Azerbaijan, Iran.
263 km (163 mi) S from epicenter	Soran Arbīl, Iraq.
283 km (176 mi) S from epicenter	Al Mawşil al Jadīdah Nineveh, Iraq.
283 km (176 mi) S from epicenter	Mosul Nineveh, Iraq.
294 km (183 mi) NW from epicenter	Artvin Artvin, Türkiye.
296 km (184 mi) NE from epicenter	Qazax Qazax, Azerbaijan.
299 km (186 mi) W from epicenter	Karakoçan Elazığ, Türkiye.
299 km (186 mi) E from epicenter	Şuşa Shusha City, Azerbaijan.

Shaking reported by 4 people

People that feel an earthquake may report their experience to the US Geographic Survey. Currently, 4 people have reported shaking in 2 places in Turkey.We keep updating this article as more ground reports become available. You may report that you felt this earthquake here.

Places with most reports:

Van, Van, Turkey: 3 people.
Erciş, Van, Turkey: 1 person.

Aftershocks detected

Since this main shock, 1 smaller aftershock was detected. Just 19 mins after this main shock, an earthquake measuring MAG-3.2 was detected 10 km (6 mi) east of this earthquake.

Before this earthquake struck, 2 smaller foreshocks occurred. Nearby this earthquake a foreshock struck 23 hrs earlier. It measured a magnitude of 3.2

Overview of foreshocks and aftershocks

Detected MAG2.5+ earthquakes within within 100km (62 mi), that occurred in the three days before and after the main shock.
Classification	Magnitude	When	Where
Foreshock	M 2.5	2 days earlier Apr 2, 2026 03:09 (Istanbul Time)	97 km (60 mi) SW from Main Shock.
Foreshock	M 3.2	23 hrs earlier Apr 3, 2026 09:23 (Istanbul Time)	72 km (44 mi) SE from Main Shock.
Main Shock This Earthquake	M 5.1	Apr 4, 2026 08:52 (Istanbul Time)	-
Aftershock	M 3.2	19 mins later Apr 4, 2026 09:11 (Istanbul Time)	10 km (6 mi) E from Main Shock.

More earthquakes coming?

The risk of aftershocks decreases rapidly over time. Usually, aftershocks are at least one order of magnitude lower than a main shock.

It's always adviced to be cautious of the risk of a larger shock following any significant earthquake, however this risk is fairly small. There is a roughly 94 percent change that no larger main shock will follow in the days following this earthquake.

Read: How to Stay Safe during an Earthquake (cdc.gov).

This is the strongest earthquake in 3 years

Earthquakes of this strength are very common in the region. This is the strongest earthquake to hit since March 24th, 2023, when a 5.6 magnitude earthquake hit 127 km (79 mi) further east. An even stronger magnitude 6 earthquake struck on February 23rd, 2020.

In total, 15 earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.1 or higher have been registered within 300km (186 mi) of this epicenter in the past 10 years. This comes down to an average of once every 8 months.

Tsunami very unlikely

DISCLAIMER: We strongly suggest to closely monitor advice from local authorities with regards to tsunami risks. Our analysis is based on automatically collected data from external sources, and these might contain mistakes. In addition, earthquakes can cause landslides that may lead to a tsunami, or be a followed by another, potentially stonger, earthquake.

While MAG-6.5+ earthquakes may cause tsunami's, it appears that the epicenter of this earthquake hit under land. In addition, the reported depth is deeper than 100km, making the risk of a tsunami even less likely. However always stay cautious and monitor advice from local authorities.

Tsunami Risk Factors

Factor	Under Sea?	MAG-6.5 or stronger?	Shallow depth?
Explanation	Almost all tsunami's are caused by earthquakes with their epicenter under sea or very near the sea. However stay cautious in coastal areas as earthquakes on land may cause landslides into sea, potentially still causing a local tsunami.	Under MAG 6.5: Very unlikely to cause a tsunami. MAG 6.5 to 7.5: Destructive tsunami's do occur, but are uncommon. Likely to observe small sea level changes. MAG 7.6+: Earthquakes with these magnitudes might produce destructive tsunami's.	Most destructive tsunami's are caused by shallow earthquakes with a depth between 0 and 100km under the surface of the earth. Deeper tsunami's are unlikely to displace to ocean floor.
This Earthquake	Not this earthquake. This earthquake appears to have struck on land far from any coast.	Not this earthquake. This earthquake had a magnitude of 5.1. Earthquakes of this strength are unlikely to trigger a tsunami.	This earthquake occurred at a depth of of 10 km (6 mi). Earthquakes this shallow could trigger a tsunami.

Sources

Last updated 19/04/26 00:18 (). This article contains currently available information about the earthquake and is automatically composed. We continue to update this article up to a few days after the earthquake occurred.