January 1, 1837 Earthquake: Beirut (Beyrout), Zefat (Safed), Lebanon, Israel

January 1, 1837, 03h [local time], 33 N, 35.5 E, intensity X. Destructive earthquake with the epicentre near Safad where all houses on steep slopes fell, fissures in the ground, 5000 victims, destructive effects (IX-X) at El Jish, Er Reina, Ein Zeitun, Tiberias (city walls overthrown, the lakeswept the shores, 700 victims), Sejera IX?, Sidon VIII-IX, Sur VIII-IX, Hunin VIII?, Qaditta and Lubya severe, Nazareth VI-VII, Nablusstrong, Kafr, Kanna V, Tsippori (Saffuriya), Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Hebron moderate, many casualties. Devastation from Beirut (Beyrouth) to Safad, deep fissures in solid rocks, new hot springs. Epicentre probably in the Tiberias depression; Beirut not particularly heavy, Nazareth great cracks in Rouses, Jericho slight, Tiberias city ruined, Esh Sham (Damascus) city affected, Hauran and Gaulan considerable. Strong tsunami along Syrian - Israeli coasts of Tiberias. (reference #1099)

1837. Syria, Palestine and Jordan Valley, intensity VIII, 5000 deaths. (reference #1222)

January 1, 1837, Asia minor, Syria, from Beyrout, Damascus to Saphit, Jaffa, Acre, Tiberias, Rani near Cana, intensity III which corresponds to an earthquake which destroyed towns and devastated districts. (reference #1055)

1837. Syria, Palestine, and the Jordan Valley: Safed, entire town destroyed, 5,000 victims; Beirut, Damascus, and Tiberius, also Acre and Jaffa suffered greatly; at Tripoli only a strong shock was felt; the Sea of Galilee was thrown into violent commotion. Mention is made of the destruction of Rani, a village near Cana, where little harm was done. Rani appears to be Reineh, which was destroyed in 1927, while neighboring towns escaped. (reference #4200)

January 1, 1837, 33 N, 35.5 E, maximum intensity IV, heavy damage in Safed, magnitude 6.4. (reference #1225)

January 1, 1837, Palestine and Syria. The loss of life caused by this earthquake and its aftershocks is difficult to estimate. The officially reported figure is 6000-7000 killed, but this is an early estin1ate and probably does not include losses in the districts of Marjuyum, al-Tuffa and Banyas, where many places within a radius of 50 ntiles (80 km) of Banyas were seriously affected, about which there is no information. A plague epidemic shortly after the earthquake added to the loss of life and isolated the coastal area from the hinterland, a situation aggravated by the Bedouins who for some time after the earthquake kept on hovering about ruined villages and towns. Safet, Tiberias and villages in tbe region of Bshara were plundered repeatedly by roving Druses and Mtwalis (reference #9116)