July 8, 1729 Earthquake: Zakynthos, Greece
A magnitude 6.3 earthquake struck Zakynthos, Greece on July 8, 1729 at 02:00 UTC. It killed 1 person.
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
- July 8, 1729
- Time
- 02:00 UTC
- Place
- Zakynthos, Greece
- Magnitude
- 6.3 (Mw)
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.851° N, 20.808° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Deaths
- 1
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Houses damaged
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
Reference #9116:
1729 Jul 8, Zakynthos. An earthquake on Zakynthos caused heavy damage to most of the houses in Zakynthos town, apparently leaving only ten intact, and destroying the front wall of the Proveditore's house. The old walls of the castle opened in places, and many of the lowers collapsed. The walls of the storehouses for the gunpowder and military equipment, of the barracks, of the Admiral's depot and of the prison were cracked. A few small houses collapsed inside the castle and in the town. Damage was less serious in the villages, and only one person was killed. Rocks fell from the mountains into the sea. The strongest shocks lasted for about two minutes, though the earthquake continued to be strongly felt and heard for eight days, and aftershocks occurred until September.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 856, Korinthos,patrai (Patras), Greece
- July 7, 551, Schisma, Boetia, Greece
- September 30, 1636, Cephalonia, Greece
- August 12, 1953, Lixouri-Argostoli (Kephallenia), Greece
- December 29, 1820, Zakinthos (Zante), Greece
- August 27, 1886, Triphylie (Peleponese), Philiatra, Greece
- July 11, 1767, Kefalonia, Greece
- February 4, 1867, Cephalonia, Greece
- August 23, 1817, Aeghion, Achaia, Greece
- February 25, 1742, Zakynthos, Greece
- August 1, 1870, Itea Delphi (Phokis), Greece
- September 30, 1870, Greece
- May 13, 1895, Margarition-Filiates (Thesprotia), Greece
- March 23, 1783, Lefkada, Greece
- January 19, 1825, Leukas, Ionian Islands, Greece
More
Significant earthquakes of 1729The 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 10792.