The main shock hit Bucharest between noon and 1 p.m. The earthquake was felt for about 10 minutes and was so violent that all chimneys in the city collapsed. The Greek chronicler Dionysius Fotino reported that Prince
Constantine Ypsilantis moved with his family to the Văcărești Monastery because his palace was severely damaged. The death toll may have been so low because the houses were built far apart and surrounded by large yards and gardens, so the buildings' vibrations did not propagate. Also, the building materials—mostly shingle and timber—were light. In
Iași, the walls of princely courts fell, and many churches and monastery towers collapsed. In
Suceava, the Armenian Church steeple cracked, while in
Pașcani, cracks appeared in the walls of St. Archangels Church. Other religious buildings damaged during the earthquake include the Princely Church of the Assumption in
Bârlad and Cașin Monastery in
Bacău.
Brașov and its surroundings, including the city's
Black Church, were severely affected. According to local chronicles, in the village of
Bod, more than 50 houses and several churches were damaged or destroyed. In
Feldioara, a column of water rose several meters into the air from a crack caused by the earthquake. Buildings collapsed in
Sibiu, including the city's Catholic church.
Constantinople and neighboring provinces also suffered extensive damage. Initially, it was thought that Constantinople, the capital of the
Ottoman Empire, had been completely destroyed. A letter from
Petrovaradin described particular devastation in the
Galata district,
Topkapı Palace, the
Hagia Sophia and the
Edirne bazaar. The main shock and subsequent aftershocks lasted up to 30 minutes. At 1:30 p.m., violent tremors were felt in what is now
Ukraine. The aftershocks, six in total, lasted three minutes and were so strong that masonry buildings in
Kiev and
Lviv were shaken and the city bells began to ring. ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' reported damage in Moscow: "the walls were cracked, the windows were shattered and vaults fell". Anatolie Drumea, an academic from
Chișinău, wrote in a letter that a nanny was walking a little boy in a stroller in the courtyard of the
Lomonosov University library when, at 1:53 p.m., "the statues began to fall" and the stone benches were overturned. The boy was the future Russian poet
Alexander Pushkin.
Intensity ==Restoration of Bucharest==