September 1, 1726 Earthquake: Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, Italy
An earthquake struck Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, Italy on September 1, 1726. It killed 250 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 1, 1726
- Place
- Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, Italy
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.100° N, 13.350° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 250
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 1,614
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 1, 1726, intensity X, quarter of the town of Palermo was ruined, including 1600 houses, 10 palaces and 4 churches. 250 dead, others say 3000. Other localities devastated: Marsala and Mazara. (reference #1093)
Septemer 1, 1726, Italy, Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, intensity II which corresponds to buildings may be unroofed or shattered and some may fall, the ground may be badly cracked in places and small landslips occur. (reference #1055)
September 1, 1726, Palermo, 38 deg 07 min N, 13 deg 21 min E, intensity IX, aftershocks. (reference #1075)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 28, 1908, Messina, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- January 9, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy
- January 11, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- February 4, 1169, Siracusa (Syracuse), Calabria, Sicily, Italy
- 1137, Catania, Sicily, Italy
- August 6, 1757, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- January 15, 1968, Sicily, Italy
- May 8, 1914, Catania, Etna, Italy
- August 25, 1613, Naso, Italy
- September 8, 1818, Madonie, Italy
- February 20, 1818, Acireale, Catania, Calabria, Italy
- July 19, 1865, Etna, Italy
- March 24, 1961, Sicily, Italy
- July 17, 1879, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1726The 1700sRecent 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 1237.