January 9, 1693 Earthquake: Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy on January 9, 1693 at 21:00 UTC. It killed 60,000 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
- January 9, 1693
- Time
- 21:00 UTC
- Place
- Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy
- Magnitude
- 6 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 11 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Volcano
- The eruption it came with
- Epicenter
- 37.333° N, 15.167° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 60,000
- Damage
- Extreme (about $25 million or more)
- Houses destroyed
- 972
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.
1693, Jan 9, at 5 pm. There were extremely violent shocks. The first lasted two minutes, the direction in Calabria was SW to NE. Followed by other shocks on the 10th and 11th. In Sicily the earth opened in many places. Catania was ruined by the first shock. Forty-nine towns, numerous villages, and 972 churches or convents were ruined in Calabria and Sicily and 93,000 persons lost their lives. The earthquake was also felt at Malta and several places in Switzerland, France, Germany, Flanders, Holland and England for a space of 2600 sq miles. It does not seem certain that the shocks were simultaneous in Italy and in the other parts of Europe mentioned. There was an eruption of Etna at the same time. (Reference #521)
1693, Jan 9. Sicily, Italy, 60000 deaths. (Reference #1003)
1693, Jan 9. Sicily, Italy. (Reference #1002)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 28, 1908, Messina, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- January 11, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- February 5, 1783, Tyrrhenian Calabria, Italy
- February 4, 1169, Siracusa (Syracuse), Calabria, Sicily, Italy
- 1137, Catania, Sicily, Italy
- August 6, 1757, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- November 5, 1659, Panaija, Soriano, Polia, Italy
- February 6, 1783, Messina Straits, Italy
- 1086, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- September 8, 1905, Monteleone, Tropea, Monte Poro, Italy
- June 19, 1640, Badolato, Italy
- September 1, 1726, Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, Italy
- January 15, 1968, Sicily, Italy
- October 23, 1907, Ferruzano, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1693The 1600sRecent 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 1129.