November 11, 1704 Earthquake: Greece

Earthquake on 11/22 November 1704. The earthquake occurred around 7:30 p.m. and was characterized as terrible. Stone houses and churches and some of the timber-framed houses fell in the town of Amaxiki. The timber-framed building of St. Athanasios church survived. The church of Ayia Mavra was ruined and repaired two years later. In Ayia Mavra, some houses fell, but the rest were damaged. Fatalities were also reported: 13 in the town and 3 in Ayia Mavra. However, from other sources, we learned that the death toll reached 34 or 40 in the town and 3 in Ayia Mavra. Several injuries were also reported. The taps in the town dried up for three days. on the rest of the island, many houses, churches, and monasteries fell. In the village of Dragano, a house sunk into the ground, and only a few stones were visible after the earthquake. The damage was extensive throughout the island, where many aqueduct arches were destroyed. The mainshock was felt on the mainland, e.g., in the towns of Arta and Preveza, as well as on other islands, like Corfu and Cephalonia. Many aftershocks followed the major earthquake until January 1705. (reference #14265)

AD 1704 Nov 22 Lefkas. The earthquake happened at 8 pm on Saturday 11 November 1704 (O.S.) and caused considerable damage in the northern part of the island of Lefkas. A contemporary account of the earthquake written in Lefkas says that all stone houses in Amaxiki and a few brick ones, as well as the churches, collapsed. Only the church of St Athanasius, which was made of timber, survived. Also, at Kastro a few houses collapsed and the rest were damaged; 13 people were killed at Amaxiki and 3 at Kastro and others were injured. Similarly, many houses collapsed in Fryni, and the earthquake was terrifying throughout the island of Lefkas, where a few monasteries and many houses in the villages collapsed, as did the church of St Anastasia at Tsukalades. The cells and bishopric and the church of the Panagia in Gyra fell and a house at Dragano even sank into the ground so that only a few stones could be seen. Damage extended to the island of Lefkas, where arcades and hazinades fell. At Peratia many houses collapsed and the earthquake was felt in Arta, Corfu and Kefalonia, where it was not so strong. Contemporary Venetian correspondence conf irms that the earthquake occurred at about 1.30 am on the night of 22 November. It adds that the small fortress of Trapano collapsed completely and that many houses in the Fortezza (Kastro = Castle) and in Amaxiki collapsed also, killing 4 and 30 people, respectively (Partsch 1887, 41; ASV SDS 951; SDR 145). The walls of the Castle were breached in places and the church of Santa Maura was ruined, being restored in 1709 by the Venetians (Vladis 1902). Damage was concentrated on the northern part of the island of Lefkas and on the opposite coast of mainland Greece. It did not extend very far and the shock is not mentioned in contemporary correspondence to Venice from Zante and Cefalonia (VVA cod. 128.6.55). The earthquake was perceptible in Corfu but it does not seem to have excited great concern from the authorities (ASV SDS 951; SDR 145; Partsch 1887, 41). Some of the details of the event are from Venetian archive material, which has been discussed by Albini et al . (1994, 15–16). (reference #9116)