Significant earthquakes of 1785

January 30, 1785 Earthquake: Patrai (Patras), Zakynthos (Zante), Greece

January 30, 1785 · 38 deaths

An earthquake struck Patrai (Patras), Zakynthos (Zante), Greece on January 30, 1785. It killed 38 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
January 30, 1785
Place
Patrai (Patras), Zakynthos (Zante), Greece
Intensity
IX, violent shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami
None recorded
Epicenter
38.200° N, 21.700° E
Country
Greece
Region
Southern Europe

The toll

Deaths
38
Damage
Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)

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 #496 lists end of January, 1785, a violent and destructive earthquake occurred in Patras, also on the island of Zante. Vesuvius was in violent eruption during the greater part of the year.

Reference #1055 lists an earthquake on January 30, 1785, that caused severe damage in Patras, Greece.

Reference #1093 lists 38 deaths.

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #1093 Montandon, Frederic (1953). Les Tremblements de Terre Destructeurs en Europe, a L'Union Internationale de Secours, Geneva, Switzerland, 195 p.
  2. #496 Mallet, Robert (1854). Catalogue of Recorded Earthquakes from 1606 B.C. to A.D. 1850, Part II, 1755 A.D. to 1784 A.D., Report of the 23rd Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Hull, Sept. 1853, John Murray, London, p. 118-212.
  3. #1055 Milne, John (1911). Catalogue of Destructive Earthquakes [7 to 1899 A.D.], Report of the 81st Meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, Portsmouth, London, United Kingdom, p. 649-740.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1785The 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 1479.