January 2, 1866 Earthquake: Narta, Vlore, Kanina, Albania

A catastrophic shock at Valona (IX MCS) in Albania, and along the coast. Houses destroyed in many towns, 60 victims, large fissures on the ground (Karnik, r376). High tsunami at Valona and in particular at Kanina (Morelli, r575). (reference #4139)

D. Mihailovic (1951), who copies her father’s work (J. Mihailovic 1927), says that at about 10 h a 10-km-long stretch of the coast of the gulf of Vlores, between Narta and Kaniana, in Albania was devastated by an earthquake and by the ensuing seismic sea wave; the ground opened up in long crevices, houses were destroyed, and 60 people perished. To this region he assigns an intensity of X and adds that further inland the intensity of shaking reached IX at Smokthina, Velca, Kudhesi, Karbounara, Tepeleni, Dragoti, Peshtanij, Maricaj and Vasiari, and that the shock had an intensity of VIII at Butrinto, opposite Corfu. This information is repeated by Papazachos and Papazachou (1997, 240), who assign to the earthquake a magnitude of 6.6. The problem with this earthquake is that J. Mihailovic, as usual, does not quote his sources of information. I could not find any evidence in support of a devastating earthquake in Albania in January 1856. [likely typo and should be 1866] Listed as a spurious event (reference #9116)