July 29, 1783 Earthquake: Gerace, Italy
An earthquake struck Gerace, Italy on July 29, 1783.
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 29, 1783
- Place
- Gerace, Italy
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.300° N, 16.300° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
- 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.
July 29, 1783, a very violent earthquake connected with the
Gerace centre, causing damage at Gerace (by which the town was
in part destroyed and in part rendered uninhabitable), Reggio and even at Catanzaro. This earthquake is regarded by Mercalli as the seventh principal earthquake. (reference #516)
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 5, 1783, Tyrrhenian Calabria, Italy
- February 4, 1169, Siracusa (Syracuse), Calabria, Sicily, Italy
- 1137, Catania, Sicily, Italy
- September 16, 1857, Calabria,montemurro, Italy
- August 6, 1757, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- March 27, 1638, Cosenza,martirano, Nicastro, Calabria, 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
- April 24, 1836, Rossano,crosia,craco,basilicata, Italy
- September 8, 1905, Monteleone, Tropea, Monte Poro, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1783The 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 1468.