May 8, 1914 Earthquake: Catania, Etna, Italy
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck Catania, Etna, Italy on May 8, 1914 at 18:01 UTC. It killed 120 people.
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
- May 8, 1914
- Time
- 18:01 UTC
- Place
- Catania, Etna, Italy
- Magnitude
- 4.9 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 10 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- None recorded
- Epicenter
- 37.700° N, 15.200° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Deaths
- 120
- Damage
- Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
- Houses destroyed
- 223
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.
Reference #1075 lists earthquake on May 8, 1914, 18:01 UTC, in Etna, 37.7 N, 15.2 E, intensity IX-X.
Reference #1004 lists earthquake on May 8, 1914, 18:02 UTC, 37.6 N, 15.1 E, magnitude 4.9, intensity IX-X.
Reference #1173 lists earthquake on May 8, 1914, magnitude 4.9, 120 deaths.
Reference #1093 lists earthquake on May 8, 1914, in 21 localities there were 223 houses destroyed, 245 partly destroyed, 613 seriously damaged, and 1060 slightly damaged.
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 1914The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1914Recent 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 3002.