The 2003 Bingöl earthquake was a magnitude 6.4 earthquake

Earthquake

An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...

 that hit eastern Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

 on May 1, 2003 at 03:27 local time (00:27 UTC). The epicenter was in Bingöl Province

Bingöl Province

Bingöl Province is a province of Turkey in Eastern Anatolia. The province was created in 1946 out of parts of Elazığ and Erzincan. The new province was known as Çapakçur Province until 1950. Its neighbouring provinces are Tunceli, Erzurum, Muş, Diyarbakır, Erzincan and Elazığ. The province covers...

, 15 km north of Bingöl

Bingöl

Bingöl is a city in Eastern Turkey. It is also known as Çabakcur , which means violent water in Armenian. It is surrounded by mountains and a large number of glacier lakes, hence the name . Lately, the town has become a popular tourist destination...

. At least 176 people were killed, and 625 buildings collapsed or suffered heavy damage in the affected region.

84 of the fatalities occurred when a dormitory block collapsed in a boarding school in Celtiksuyu.