July 20, 1884 Earthquake: Massawa, Muncullo, Eritrea
A magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck Massawa, Muncullo, Eritrea on July 20, 1884 at 09:30 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
- July 20, 1884
- Time
- 09:30 UTC
- Place
- Massawa, Muncullo, Eritrea
- Magnitude
- 6.2 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 15.700° N, 39.600° E
- Country
- Eritrea
The toll
- Damage
- Moderate (about $1 to $5 million)
- Houses destroyed
- Many (101 to 1,000)
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.
July 20, 1884. A damaging earthquake occurred in Eritrea, with an epicentre probably offshore from Massawa. Many houses in Massawa and a few in Muncullo were ruined, without loss of life. High sea waves built up in the harbour at Massawa, especially in the bay between Taulud and
Edaga Barai, and swept over the causeway. Ships in the
harbour were seen to rock violently. Several times the
sea flooded the land, leaving dead fish on the shore.
The shocks were also strongly felt on the Dahlak islands.
Aftershocks continued intermittent1y until October.
Contrary to some catalogues, there is no indication
that Cairo was affected by this earthquake. (reference #3845)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
More
Significant earthquakes of 1884The 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 8201.