Around ~07:40 on 3 April 1872, the mainshock of the 1872 CE Amik Gölü Quake produced ~50 s of strong shaking and “almost totally ruined Antioch,” with 1,960 of ~3,000 houses destroyed, 894 rendered uninhabitable, and only 149 in good condition; fatalities were reported between ~500 and 1,600, with 400–800 injured (Ambraseys, 2009).

Religious and civic structures suffered heavily: the Capuchin church and hospice were ruined; Greek, Armenian, and Protestant churches were shattered (four deaths); in total four mosques, three churches, and one convent were destroyed. The American mission was damaged; minarets were damaged but standing; the grotto of St Peter, about 1 km. from Antioch, was unharmed, whereas the church of Saints Peter and Paul was ruined beyond repair. Most European consulates stood; Spain’s collapsed (Ambraseys, 2009).

Ambraseys (2009) also records that “the arches above the East Gate and the North Gate of St Paul were thrown down,” parts of the citadel walls crumbled, and the fortified bridge of Antioch cracked in several places with its parapet shaken off.

Jordan Pickett in De Giorgi et al. (2024) reproduced an eyewitness report from Rev. W. B. Keer, who described narrow streets “literally blocked up … with the ruins of fallen houses,” a “dense cloud of dust,” “several aqueducts … broken,” and the old Roman bridge “rent in several places”; he adds that the east-end city-door arch was “hurled down,” lying on the ground almost fully intact.

Keer further noted fissures 2–3 inches wide in town and several feet deep on nearby hillsides, rockfall and boulders blocking tracks and roads, and many dead brought to the bridge. He also reported many survivors encamping in fields while Ambraseys (2009) notes that many left the city for Aleppo — evidence of severe near-field damage and disruption of water supplies and infrastructure. Ambraseys (2009) adds that the lower town suffered more than the upper town, something also observed by Keer. This may be due to liquefaction on the flood plain of the Orontes River. Ambraseys (2009) suggests that a swift evacuation between the first shock and a later strong episode may have limited casualties. Aftershocks continued for months; five are documented by Ambraseys (2009) between 10 April 1872 and 9 February 1873.