September 1784 Earthquake: Kefalonia, Greece
An earthquake struck Kefalonia, Greece in September 1784.
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 1784
- Place
- Kefalonia, Greece
- Intensity
- 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 38.100° N, 20.300° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Deaths
- Few (about 1 to 50)
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 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.
1784 Sept (beginning of the month). Island of Cephalonia. Also in Sta Maura and at Argos. Many severe shocks. In Cephalonia much damage was done; but little however in Sta Maura and at Argos (reference #497)
1784 Sept, Greece. the islands of Kefalonia, Lefkada, and the city of Argos, “there were repeated strong earthquakes there, which toppled many houses, and many residents of both sexes perished under the rubble,” “at the same time, there were earthquakes on the islands of Santa Maura and Argos, but they did not cause as much damage” (reference #14427) based on newspaper St. Petersburg Vedomosti.
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- 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
- February 5, 1786, Corfu (Kerkira), 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 1784The 1700sRecent earthquakes near here
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 11012.