Tsunamis in Greece

In a total of 24 tidal waves classified as a tsunami since 142 a total of 5,010 people died in Greece. Compared to other countries, Tsunamis therefore occur more often than average, but still moderate.

The strongest tidal wave registered in Greece so far reached a height of 30 meters. At this Tsunami on 09/29/1650 no losses of human lifes have been registered.

The biggest impact in terms of lifes, injuries, destroyed homes and economy had been a tsunami on 05/14/1748.

Other natural hazards in Greece:
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› Earthquake
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The marked positions on the map represent the most effected regions within the past 1900 years.

Tsunamis are caused by earthquakes or other seismic eruptions on ground of an oceans and can cause massive tidal waves, which run with enormous force on land, causing great devastation. Especially in regions with only few tsunamis, the damage is often drastic, as the population does not expect tsunamis and thus hardly takes any protective measures. Even relatively small flood waves can lead to high losses and financial damage.

The largest tsunamis in Greece since 0142

Date	Cause	max wave height	Deaths
07/20/2017	Earthquake in Turkey (Gulf Of G?kova) with a magnitude of 6.6.	1.5 m	0
03/24/2002	Eruption in Greece (Dodecanese Islands)	4 m	0
06/15/1995	Earthquake, landslide in Greece (Gulf Of Corinth: Aiyion) with a magnitude of 6.5.	1 m	0
02/07/1963	Landslide in Greece (Corinth Gulf)	6 m	2
07/09/1956	Earthquake in Greece (Cyclades) with a magnitude of 7.8.	20 m	3
07/09/1956	Earthquake in Greece (Amorgos Island, Aegean Islands) with a magnitude of 6.8.	10 m	0
04/22/1948	Earthquake in Greece (Ionian Sea) with a magnitude of 6.5.	1 m	0
02/09/1948	Earthquake in Greece (Dodecanese, Karpathos Is.) with a magnitude of 7.1.	7.3 m	0
08/07/1915	Earthquake in Greece (Ionian Sea) with a magnitude of 6.7.	1.5 m	0
11/08/1905	Earthquake, landslide in Greece (North Aegean Sea) with a magnitude of 7.2.	3 m	5
04/27/1894	Earthquake, landslide in Greece (North Evoikos Gulf) with a magnitude of 7.0.	3 m	0
02/09/1893	Earthquake in Greece (Samothrace) with a magnitude of 6.5.	1 m	0
09/20/1867	Earthquake in Greece (Peloponnesus, Greece) with a magnitude of 7.1.	6 m	0
02/06/1866	Earthquake in Greece (S. Coasts Peloponnesus, Greece) with a magnitude of 6.0.	8.6 m	0
12/26/1861	Earthquake, landslide in Greece (Corinth Gulf) with a magnitude of 7.3.	2.1 m	0
01/06/1821	Earthquake in Greece (Ionian Sea) with a magnitude of 6.5.	0 m	0
05/14/1748	Earthquake in Greece (Corinthos-Patras Gulf) with a magnitude of 6.8.	0 m	0
09/29/1650	Volcano, landslide in Greece (Thera Island (Santorini)) with a magnitude of 6.3.	30 m	0
11/05/1633	Earthquake in Greece (Island Of Zakynthos) with a magnitude of 6.9.	0 m	0
07/01/1494	Earthquake in Greece (Island Of Crete) with a magnitude of 7.2.	0 m	0
05/03/1481	Earthquake in Greece (Island Of Rhodes) with a magnitude of 7.1.	3 m	0
08/08/1303	Earthquake in Greece (Aegean Sea) with a magnitude of 8.0. The tsunami also reached Egypt, Israel.	0 m	0
07/21/0365	Earthquake in Greece (Crete) with a magnitude of 8.0. The tsunami also reached Egypt, Spain, Turkey.	0 m	5,000
01/01/0142	Earthquake in Greece (Dodecanese Islands) with a magnitude of 7.0.	0 m	0

These statistics are based on datas from the National Geophysical Data Center / World Data Service (NGDC/WDS): Global Historical Tsunami Database. doi:10.7289/V5TD9V7K. Several data have been summarized and translated.