The earthquake struck at 2:17 in the morning on 6 October 1948. The epicenter of the earthquake was located near the small village of Gara-Gaudan, 25 kilometers southwest of Ashgabat. The earthquake caused extreme damage in Ashgabat and nearby villages, where almost all brick buildings collapsed, concrete structures were heavily damaged, and freight trains were derailed. Damage and casualties occurred in Darreh Gaz, Iran. Surface rupture was observed northwest and southeast of Ashgabat. Media sources vary on the number of the casualties, from 10,000 to 110,000, equivalent to almost 10% of the Turkmen SSR's population at the time.
According to memoirs of survivors, the city's infrastructure was badly damaged, with the exception of water pipes. Electricity was restored six days after the earthquake. The railway station began functioning on the third day.
This earthquake killed future Turkmen president Saparmurat Niyazov's mother Gurbansoltan Eje (his father having died during World War II) and the rest of his family, leaving him an orphan.[4] Aid to victims, as well as restoration of basic needs and infrastructure, was provided by the Soviet Army.
One of the most devastating earthquakes in the past century - the 1948 Ashgabat earthquake - occurred 2:17 in the morning on 6 October 1948. The epicenter of the earthquake (37.95°N ; 58.32°E) was located near the small village Gara-Gaudan, 25 kilometers southwest of Ashgabat. On that date, an earthquake measuring magnitude: 7.3 Mw on the Richter scale. Surface rupture was observed northwest and southeast of Ashgabat. The earthquake lasted only 10 seconds, but it caused extreme damage in Ashgabat and nearby villages, where almost all brick buildings collapsed, concrete structures were heavily damaged, and freight trains were derailed. More than two-thirds of the people living in the city were killed by the earthquake (the total number of dead were around 110,000).
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