September 22, 1522 Earthquake: Fez, Almeria, Morocco, Spain
An earthquake struck Fez, Almeria, Morocco, Spain on September 22, 1522. It killed 1,000 people.
Map
Where it struck, with the other significant earthquakes within 200 km. Circles are sized and colored by magnitude; select one for its page.
The earthquake
- Date
- September 22, 1522
- Place
- Fez, Almeria, Morocco, Spain
- Intensity
- 11 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 36.970° N, 2.660° W
- Country
- Spain
The toll
- Deaths
- 1,000
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Where the literature gives no number, NCEI records a description on a scale of 1 to 4, printed here in its words. Damage is in millions of US dollars of the year of the event, not adjusted for inflation.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
September 22, 1522, 36.9 N, 2.5 W, Almeria, intensity IX. (reference #1193)
1522, Fez and surrounding villages were destroyed. (reference #1183)
September 21, 1522. Destruction of Almeria. The river of the same name was deviated. Many victims. Intensity X 1/2 to XI. (reference #1093)
The town of Almeria was devastated by earthquakes in 1487, 1522 (I0 =IX MSK) and 1658 (I0 =VIII MSK). (reference #10321)
The 1522 Almeria earthquake (M > 6.5) affected large areas in the western Mediterranean and caused more than 1000 casualties. The epicentral area was offshore in the Gulf of Almeria (southern Spain) along the Carboneras Fault Zone and seismic shaking triggered submarine slides in the Gulf of Almeria, which may have caused tsunami waves. (reference #5113)
Many references in El Mrabet (2005) reported a strong earthquake felt in San Miguel Island, Andalusia (Spain) and several northern areas of Morocco: Fez, Tetouan and Bades. Intensity is estimated X (MSK) in Almeria. (reference# 8635)
On September 22, 1522, a great earthquake with maximum intensity VIII-IX occurred that caused the fall of most of the houses of Almería and Ugijar (Granada) and some 1,000 victims. Although some authors place the epicenter on land, others place it in the Alboran Sea. (reference #13515)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 25, 1884, Arenas del Rey, Vega, Alhama, Malaga, Spain
- September 30, 1531, Baza, Spain
- August 25, 1804, Almeria, Dalias, Roquetas, Spain
- November 9, 1518, Vera, Spain
- October 9, 1680, Malaga, Spain
- August 28, 1674, Lorca, Spain
- October 27, 1806, Granada, Spain
- April 19, 1956, Spain
- May 11, 2011, Lorca, Spain
- January 13, 1804, Dalias, Almeria, Spain
- January 25, 2016, Melilla, Morocco
- March 29, 1954, Spain
- April 24, 1431, Granada, Spain
- February 16, 1930, Off Southern Coast, Spain
- January 29, 2005, La Paca, Zarcilla DE Ramos, Spain
More
Significant earthquakes of 1522The 1500sRecent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history
Sources
Significant earthquakes from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Global Historical Hazard Database, cited as NCEI/WDS, doi:10.7289/V5PN93H7. Public domain. Read 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 695.