April 11, 1881 Earthquake: Khios, Greece
An earthquake struck Khios, Greece on April 11, 1881. 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
- April 11, 1881
- Place
- Khios, Greece
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.200° N, 26.200° E
- Country
- Greece
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
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.
Many strong aftershocks, from April 3 to April 9 [1881] about 250 aftershocks, among them 30-40 damaging or destructive ones, April 11, 17h, destruction of the still standing part of the town Khios and of many other localities, two shocks of the same intensity (intensity = IX?) (reference #1099)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- July 10, 1668, Turkey
- July 10, 1688, Izmir, Turkey
- October 15, 1883, Ayvalik, Izmir, Cesme, Turkey
- April 3, 1881, Cesme, Khios, Turkey, Greece
- October 1491, Kos, Greece
- February 23, 1653, Izmir,alasehir,denizli,aydin, Turkey
- 688, Izmir, Turkey
- March 7, 1867, Izmir, Mitilini, Turkey, Greece
- August 6, 1384, Lesbos, Greece
- April 23, 1933, Dodecanese Islands, Greece
- March 31, 1928, Tepekoy, Torbali, Turkey
- October 30, 2020, Izmir, Samos, Turkey, Greece
- July 9, 1956, Dodecanese, Greece
- March 28, 1969, Alasehir, Sarigol, Kiraz, Turkey
- September 21, 1939, Turkey
More
Significant earthquakes of 1881The 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 8190.