September 5, 1868 Earthquake: Italy
An earthquake struck Italy on September 5, 1868 at 02:00 UTC. It caused a tsunami.
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 5, 1868
- Time
- 02:00 UTC
- Place
- Italy
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Volcano
- The eruption it came with
- Epicenter
- 37.600° N, 15.133° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1868, September 5, 02h. Calabrian Arc, Island of Sicily. Once several flame - coloured tongues and balls were ejected from the crater of Etna, a strong earthquake that lasted
several seconds occurred in Aci Catena, Acireale, Viagrande, Giarre, Zafferana (Etnea), Macchia, S. Antonio, Sta Venerina, Trecastagni and in other places. It was weakly felt in Catania, but did not reach Messina. The sea was very excited
3 miles from the little Island of Aci Trezza. (reference #2130)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- December 28, 1908, Messina, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- January 9, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Catania, Italy
- January 11, 1693, Sicily, Calabria, Italy
- February 5, 1783, Tyrrhenian Calabria, Italy
- February 4, 1169, Siracusa (Syracuse), Calabria, Sicily, Italy
- 1137, Catania, Sicily, Italy
- August 6, 1757, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- March 27, 1638, Cosenza,martirano, Nicastro, Calabria, Italy
- November 5, 1659, Panaija, Soriano, Polia, Italy
- February 6, 1783, Messina Straits, Italy
- 1086, Siracusa (Syracuse), Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- September 8, 1905, Monteleone, Tropea, Monte Poro, Italy
- June 19, 1640, Badolato, Italy
- September 1, 1726, Palermo, Marsala, Mazzara, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1868The 1800sRecent 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 2026-09-24. NCEI earthquake 7967.