List of tsunamis in Europe

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The following is a list of notable tsunamis in Europe.

Contents

The aftermath of the Messina earthquake and tsunami on December 28, 1908 Messina earthquake.jpg
The aftermath of the Messina earthquake and tsunami on December 28, 1908

Causes

Most of the tsunamis that have occurred within Europe have happened in the Mediterranean Sea because in the Mediterranean Sea there are earthquakes, submarine landslide and volcanoes. Most of the earthquakes occur on the Eurasian Plate but earthquakes and submarine landslide also occur in western Europe like France, Norway and the United Kingdom which have been struck by tsunamis.

Tsunamis

DateCountryDeadCauseNotes
~6225-6170 BC Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Scotland, United Kingdom UnknownUnderwater landslide Storegga Slide, Norway [1]
6000 BC Flag of Italy.svg Sicily, Italy UnknownVolcanic eruption
3500 BC Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Northern Isles ManyTsunamiUnclear [2]
1410 BC Flag of Greece.svg Santorini, Greece UnknownVolcanic eruption [3]
426 BC Flag of Greece.svg Gulf of Euboea, Greece UnknownEarthquake 426 BC Malian Gulf tsunami [3]
373 BC Flag of Greece.svg Helike, Greece UnknownEarthquakeAn earthquake and a tsunami destroyed the prosperous Greek city Helike, lying 2 km away from the sea. The fate of the city, which remained permanently submerged, was often commented upon by ancient writers and may have inspired Plato when writing his story of Atlantis in Timaeus and Critias. [3]
227 BC Flag of Greece.svg Dodecanese, Greece UnknownEarthquake 226 BC Rhodes earthquake [3]
210 BC Flag of Portugal.svg Gulf of Cadiz, Portugal UnknownEarthquake [4]
79 AD Flag of Italy.svg Gulf of Naples, Italy UnknownVolcanic eruptionA smaller tsunami was witnessed in the Bay of Naples by Pliny the Younger during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. [5]
21 July 365 Flag of Greece.svg Crete, Greece Thousands8.0 earthquake 365 Crete earthquake [3]
7 July 551 Flag of Greece.svg Menidi, Aetolia-Acarnania, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
15 August 554 Flag of Greece.svg Kos, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
24 October 842 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Channel Islands United Kingdom UnknownEarthquake [6]
1050 Flag of Greece.svg Santorini, Greece UnknownVolcanic eruption [3]
11 November 1099 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Cornwall, United Kingdom,UnknownUnknown [6]
1 October 1134 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Flag of the Netherlands.svg North Sea, United Kingdom, Netherlands UnknownUnknown [7]
4 February 1169 Flag of Italy.svg Strait of Messina, Italy,UnknownEarthquake [5]
11 May 1222 Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus UnknownEarthquake [3]
8 August 1303 Flag of Greece.svg Crete, Greece Thousands8.0 earthquake1303 Crete earthquake [3]
25 November 1343 Flag of Italy.svg Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy Loss of lives recorded unknown number.Earthquake [5]
5 December 1456 Flag of Italy.svg Province of Benevento, Italy30,000–70,000Earthquake [5] Largest earthquake to strike Italy.
3 May 1481 Flag of Greece.svg Rhodes, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
6 April 1580 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Strait of Dover, United Kingdom 120Earthquake/Underwater landslideThe 5.9 earthquake caused freak waves in the Strait of Dover which were observed in England and France. [6]
30 January 1607 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Bristol Channel, United Kingdom 2,000disputed tsunami caused by earthquake off Ireland
27 March 1638 Flag of Italy.svg Sicily, Italy9,581–30,000Earthquake [5]
6 April 1667 Flag of Croatia.svg Adriatic Sea, Croatia UnknownEarthquakeThe tsunami struck the city of Dubrovnik. [8]
9 October 1680 Flag of Spain.svg Alboran Sea, Spain UnknownUnknown [9]
11 January 1693 Flag of Italy.svg Italy 1000Earthquake [5]
1693 Flag of Iceland.svg Iceland UnknownVolcanic earthquake [10]
21 February 1723 Flag of Greece.svg Lefkada, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
20 February 1743 Flag of Italy.svg Apulia, Italy180–300Earthquake [5]
14 May 1748 Flag of Greece.svg Gulf of Patras, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
7 July 1757 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom UnknownEarthquake [6]
21 January 1760 Flag of Denmark.svg Flag of Germany.svg Baltic Sea, Denmark, Germany UnknownUnderwater landslide [11]
5 September 1767 Flag of Ireland.svg Dublin Republic of Ireland UnknownUnknown [12]
February 5, February 6, February 7, March 1, March 28, 1783 Flag of Italy.svg Calabria, Italy 50,000Earthquakes [5]
1 November 1755 Flag of Portugal.svg Lisbon, Portugal 10,000Earthquake [13]
31 March 1761 Flag of Portugal.svg Lisbon, PortugalUnknownEarthquakeModerate tsunami observed in Cornwall and Barbados.
18 September 1763 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Weymouth, Dorset, United Kingdom UnknownUnknown [6]
2 April 1808 Flag of Italy.svg Coast, Italy UnknownEarthquakeAn earthquake in Italy caused a possible tsunami that was observed in Marseille, France. [5] [14]
23 August 1817 Flag of Greece.svg Gulf of Corinth, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
29 December 1820 Flag of Greece.svg Zakynthos, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
5 July 1843 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Cornwall, United Kingdom UnknownUnknown [6]
12 October 1856 Flag of Greece.svg Crete, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
19 September 1867 Flag of Greece.svg Ionian Sea Greece 12Earthquake [3]
3 April 1881 Flag of Greece.svg Chios, Greece 7,866Earthquake [3]
27 August 1886 Flag of Greece.svg Ionian Sea, Greece UnknownEarthquake [3]
23 February 1887 Flag of France.svg Ligurian Sea, France UnknownEarthquake [5] [14]
14 June 1893 Flag of Albania.svg Adriatic Sea, Albania Unknown7.5 earthquake [15]
31 March 1901 Flag of Bulgaria.svg Black Sea, Bulgaria 07.2 earthquake [16]
16 January 1905 Flag of Norway.svg Loen, Norway 61Landslide [17]
8 September 1905 Flag of Italy.svg Calabria, Italy 557Earthquake [5]
28 December 1908 Flag of Italy.svg Messina, Italy 200,0007.2 earthquake [5]
11 September 1930 Flag of Italy.svg Italy 2Earthquake [5]
26 September 1932 Flag of Greece.svg Ierissos, Greece 491Earthquake 1932 Ierissos earthquake [3]
7 April 1934 Flag of Norway.svg Tafjord Norway 40
Landslide [17]
13 September 1936 Flag of Norway.svg Loen, Norway 74Landslide [17]
September 10 1953 Flag of Cyprus.svg Paphos, Cyprus 40Earthquake
9 July 1956 Flag of Greece.svg Aegean Islands Greece 3Earthquake [3]
9 July 1956 Flag of Greece.svg Dodecanese Greece 56Earthquake [3]
9 October 1963 Flag of Italy.svg Monte Toc, Italy 1,450Landslide
28 February 1969 Flag of Portugal.svg Portugal 0Earthquake [13]
21 June 1978 Flag of Croatia.svg Vela Luka, Croatia 0Meteorologic [18]
16 October 1979 Flag of France.svg Nice, France 8-23Landslide and underwater landslide [19]
1 January 1980 Flag of Portugal.svg Azores, Portugal 0Earthquake [13]
13 December 1990 Flag of Italy.svg Italy 6Earthquake [5]
30 December 2002 Flag of Italy.svg Stromboli, Italy 0Landslide [5]
21 May 2003 Flag of Spain.svg Balearic islands, Spain 0EarthquakeThe earthquake was off the coast of Algeria. [20] [21]
29 June 2011 Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Cornwall, United Kingdom 0Underwater landslide [6] [22] [23] [24]
30 October 2020 Flag of Greece.svg Aegean Islands, Greece 1EarthquakeA magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Turkey, producing a 2.2 meter-high tsunami that would later strike the coast of Turkey, and the Aegean Islands, including Ikaria, Kos, Chios, and Samos. [25] [20]

See also

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lists of earthquakes</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">1700 Cascadia earthquake</span> Megathrust earthquake in the Pacific Northwest region

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The area around Constantinople was affected by a major earthquake in AD 447. It caused serious damage to the recently completed Theodosian Walls in Constantinople, destroying 57 towers and large stretches of the walls. The historical records contain no mention of casualties directly associated with this earthquake, although many thousands of people were reported to have died in the aftermath due to starvation and a "noxious smell".

On the morning of March 13, 1888, an explosion took place on Ritter Island, a small volcanic island in the Bismarck and Solomon Seas, between New Britain and Umboi Island. The explosion resulted in the collapse of most of the island and generated a tsunami with runups of up to 15 meters (49 ft) that caused damage more than 700 kilometers (430 mi) away and killed anywhere between 500 and 3,000 on neighboring islands, including scientists and explorers. This event is the largest volcanic island sector collapse in recent history.

The 1674 Ambon earthquake occurred on February 17 between 19:30 and 20:00 local time in the Maluku Islands. The resulting tsunami reached heights of up to 100 metres (330 ft) on Ambon Island killing over 2,000 individuals. It was the first detailed documentation of a tsunami in Indonesia and the largest ever recorded in the country. The exact fault which produced the earthquake has never been determined, but geologists postulate either a local fault, or a larger thrust fault offshore. The extreme tsunami was likely the result of a submarine landslide.

The 1815 Bali earthquake occurred on November 22 between 22:00 and 23:00 local time (WITA), affecting the Bali Kingdom. The estimated moment magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck off the north coast of Bali at a shallow depth. It was assigned a maximum intensity of IX (Violent) on the Mercalli intensity scale, causing severe damage in Buleleng and Tabanan. The earthquake caused a landslide and tsunami that killed 11,453 people.

The 479 BC Potidaea tsunami is the oldest record of a paleotsunami in human history. The tsunami is believed to have been triggered by a Ms 7.0 earthquake in the north Aegean Sea. The associated tsunami may have saved the colony of Potidaea from an invasion by Persians from the Achaemenid Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1867 Keelung earthquake</span> Earthquake and tsunami affecting the northern coast of Taiwan

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The eastern margin of the Sea of Japan is a zone of concentrated geological strain which extends several hundred kilometers and north–south along the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan. The margin has undergone convergence tectonics since the end of the Pliocene. It is believed to be an incipient subduction zone which defines the tectonic boundary between the Amurian and Okhotsk plates. This geological zone is seismically active and has been the source of destructive tsunamis. The feature runs off the west coast of Honshu, passes west of the Shakotan Peninsula on Hokkaido and through the Strait of Tartary, between Sakhalin and mainland Russia.

References

  1. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Deposits Evidence Search" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  2. ↑ Bondevik, Stein; Mangerud, Jan; Dawson, Sue; Dawson, Alastair; Lohne, Øystein (1 August 2005). "Evidence for three North Sea tsunamis at the Shetland Islands between 8000 and 1500 years ago". Quaternary Science Reviews. 24 (14): 1757–1775. Bibcode:2005QSRv...24.1757B. doi:10.1016/j.quascirev.2004.10.018. hdl: 1956/735 . ISSN   0277-3791.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  4. ↑ http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?op_14=eq&v_14=PORTUGAL&bt_10=1&d=7&t=101650&s=70 [ dead link ]
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  7. ↑ http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/nndc/struts/results?op_14=eq&v_14=NORTH+SEA&bt_10=1&d=7&t=101650&s=70 [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  9. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  11. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  12. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  14. 1 2 "Evaluating and preventing the tsunami risk for France's metropolitan and overseas coasts - Sénat" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  16. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  17. 1 2 3 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  18. ↑ "Riješena zagonetka plimnog vala koji je pogodio Vela Luku 1978. godine". Dubrovački vjesnik. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  19. ↑ Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  20. 1 2 Paula Dunbar. "Tsunami Events Full Search, sort by Date, Country" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  21. ↑ "Tsunamis in Spain" . Retrieved 24 January 2016.
  22. ↑ Bowater, Donna (29 June 2011). "Landslide causes tsunamis off the coast of Cornwall". London: Telegraph. Archived from the original on July 2, 2011. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  23. ↑ "Home of the Daily and Sunday Express | UK News :: Tsunami waves hit UK coastline". Express.co.uk. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  24. ↑ "South coast hit by tsunami after ocean landslide". mirror.co.uk. 2011-06-30. Retrieved 2011-09-19.
  25. ↑ "Serious tsunami hits Greece and Turkey after 7.0 earthquake". Unesco. 12 Nov 2020. Retrieved 2021-07-03.
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