October 11, 1869 Earthquake: Sudak, Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine

Name: October 11, 1869 Earthquake: Sudak, Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine
Start: 1869-10-11
Location: Sudak, Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine

October 11, 1869 · M5.6

A magnitude 5.6 earthquake struck Sudak, Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine on October 11, 1869 at 11:10 UTC, 18 km below the surface. 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: October 11, 1869
Time: 11:10 UTC
Place: Sudak, Feodosia, Crimea, Ukraine
Magnitude: 5.6 (Ms)
Focal depth: 18 km (11 mi)
Intensity: 8 on the Modified Mercalli scale
Tsunami: Yes: the tsunami it caused
Epicenter: 44.750° N, 35.000° E
Country: Ukraine

The toll

Damage: Limited (under about $1 million)
Houses destroyed: Few (about 1 to 50)
Houses damaged: Few (about 1 to 50) with its tsunami and other effects

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.

1869, October 11. Terrible earthquake in Crimee, in particular at Feodosia (on the peninsula), Sudak and Yalta, intensity IX. (reference #1093)

1869, October 11. Russia, Crimea, Feodossia, Suda, Jalta. Intensity I which corresponds to an earthquake of intensity sufficient to crack walls, break chimneys, to shatter old buildings or to produce cracks in the ground. (reference #1055)

1869, October 11, 13 UTC. 44.75 N, 35 E, intensity VII-IX. A very strong earthquake felt throughout the Crimea, at Sudak church walls fissured, the region Sudak-Taraktash suffered much, at Feodosiya and Yalta houses were damaged, felt at Sevastopol and Livadia. (reference #1099)

1869, October 11, 13 UTC. Crimea, 44o45'N 35oE, earthquake intensity VIII, tsunami reliability 1. Strong earthquake felt in Crimea. At Sudak church walls fissured. Sudak-Taraktash region suffered much damage. Felt at Sevastopol and Livadia. In some South Crimea harbours sea level rising (Grigorash, ref #10532). (reference #4139)

On October 11, 1869, an earthquake occurred in the south-eastern part of the Crimea with the epicentre located in the vicinity of the town of Sudak. It had a intensity of 7-8 in Yalta, Sevastopol, and Sudak. "The sea was stormy". (reference #4658)

On 11 October 1869 an earthquake occurred with speculated magnitude of 6, and approximate epicenter 44.7 N, 35 E, in the vicinity of the town of Sudak in the southeastern part of the Crimea. The earthquake intensity was about 7–8 in Yalta, Sevastopol, and Sudak. Fast receding of the sea of about 2 m in Sudak and 1-m high tide in Yevpatoriya was observed [Nikonov, 1997]. The intensity of this tsunami can be considered as intensity II–IV according to the new tsunami intensity scale of Papadopoulos and Imamura [2001]. (reference #4213)

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

Significant earthquakes of 1869 The 1800s Recent earthquakes near here This 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 2159.