December 1815 Earthquake: Crete, Greece
An earthquake struck Crete, Greece in December 1815.
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
- December 1815
- Place
- Crete, Greece
- Intensity
- 9 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 35.000° N, 25.750° E
- Country
- Greece
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.
December, 1815, Hierapetra-Etea (Crete), 35 N, 25.75 E, intensity IX. (reference #1198)
December?, 1815, 35 N, 25.75 E, intensity IX. S. and E. Crete shaken, a greater part of Ierapetra destroyed, solid houses in Itea also destroyed as well as the monastery Acrotiriani, serious damage at Toplu. (reference #1099)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- August 8, 1303, Crete, Greece
- February 16, 1810, Iraklion (Candia), Crete, Greece
- October 12, 1856, Crete, Egypt, Greece
- May 29, 1508, Iraklion (Candia),megalokastron, Crete, Greece
- July 9, 1956, Dodecanese, Greece
- September 27, 2021, Crete, Greece
- October 28, 1780, Crete, Greece
- October 12, 2021, Crete, Greece
- 1450 BC, Lacus Cimini, Italy
- July 9, 251, Crete, Greece
- 438, Crete, Greece
- 1306, Crete, Greece
- July 1, 1494, Crete, Greece
- 1604, Crete, Greece
- November 8, 1612, Crete, Greece
More
Significant earthquakes of 1815The 1800sRecent 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 1621.