Significant earthquakes of 1915

August 7, 1915 Earthquake: Kefallonia Island, Ithaca Island, Greece

August 7, 1915 · M6.7

A magnitude 6.7 earthquake struck Kefallonia Island, Ithaca Island, Greece on August 7, 1915 at 15:04:03 UTC, 14 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
August 7, 1915
Time
15:04:03 UTC
Place
Kefallonia Island, Ithaca Island, Greece
Magnitude
6.7 (Ms)
Focal depth
14 km (9 mi)
Intensity
IX, violent shaking, on the Modified Mercalli scale
Epicenter
38.500° N, 20.700° E
Country
Greece
Region
Southern Europe

The toll

Damage
Severe (about $5 to $25 million)
Houses destroyed
Many (101 to 1,000)
Houses damaged
Some (about 51 to 100)

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.

1915, August 7, 17:22 [local time]. 39.1 N, 21.6 E, depth 14 km, magnitude 6-6.5, intensity VIII. In the Ionian Sea, Ionian Islands, a fairly strong earthquake caused great destruction on the northern slopes of the Islands of Kefallonia and Ithaca and in the southern part of the Island of Levkas. Only 4 houses remained intact in the village of Vasiliki; the rest became uninhabitable. Considerable damage was done to the village of Ay Petros. Quite serious destruction took place in the villages of Kontaraena, Evyiros and Marachontora, as well as at the lighthouse in the south-eastern part of the island and in the nearby Castle of Ay. Nikolaos. Slight damage to buildings was noted in the town of Levkas. Many sizeable rockfalls came down from the mountains of Vournikas, Leukatas and Stavraetos. The earthquake was felt up to Kiparissia, Tripoli (Tripolitsa), Volos, Ioannina and Magoulades (the Island of Kerkyra). Over 46 strong aftershocks including 4 very strong (M = 6.2 - 7.0) ones occurred up to August 13. Two waves 1.5 m high (5 feet) were observed between the Islands of Kefallonia and Levkas. (reference #2130)

1915, August 7, 15:04:03 UTC. 38.5 N, 20.617 E, shallow depth, magnitude 6.7, intensity IX. (reference #2427)

1915, August 7, 15:04:03 UTC. 38.5 N, 20.5 E, intensity IX, magnitude 6-6.25. Ithaca (Ionian Islands); fissures, slumps, changes in wells, rockslides, tsunami. (reference #1198)

1915, August 7, 15:05:00 UTC. 38.5 N, 20.5 E, magnitude 6.6, intensity IX-X. (reference #1004)

1915, August 7. Long earthquake swarm. November 27, 1914 in the western part of Ste-Maure houses were almost completely ruined or rendered uninhabitable several deaths. Amaxiki (the chief town) has had a few ruined buildings. Several aftershocks followed, January 27, 1915, many houses collapsed in Ithaca. On August 7, 1915: further destruction at Ste-Maure, Cephalonie and Ithaque. Implications in Epire. (reference #1093)

Sources NCEI cites

The publications NCEI lists for this record. The numbers match the “reference #” notes in its account above.

  1. #2130 Soloviev, Sergey L., Olga N. Solovieva, Chan N. Go, Khen S. Kim, and Nikolay A. Shchetnikov (2000). Tsunamis in the Mediterranean Sea 2000 B.C.-2000 A.D., Advances in Natural and Technological Hazards Research, Volume 13, Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, Netherlands, 237 p.
  2. #2427 Papadopoulos, Gerassimos A. (2000). Tsunamis in the East Mediterranean: 1. A Catalogue for the Area of Greece and Adjacent Seas. Institute of Geodynamics, National Observatory of Athens, Greece. Online listing of events through 2000 at: http://www.gein.noa.gr/services/catalogue.htm
  3. #1198 Galanopoulos, Angelos G. (1960). Greece: A Catalogue of Shocks with Io greater than or equal to VI or M greater than or equal to 5 for the Years 1801-1958. Seismological Laboratory, Athens University, 119 p.
  4. #1004 Karnik, V. (1969). Seismicity of the European Area, Part 1, D. Riedel Publishing Co., Dordrecht, Holland, 1969. 364 p.
  5. #1093 Montandon, Frederic (1953). Les Tremblements de Terre Destructeurs en Europe, a L'Union Internationale de Secours, Geneva, Switzerland, 195 p.

Other significant earthquakes nearby

Within 200 km, the deadliest first.

More

Significant earthquakes of 1915The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1915Recent 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 2026-10-01. NCEI earthquake 6579. The written accounts and the magnitude estimates are from the USGS earthquake catalog, event iscgem913928, matched to this record by time, place and magnitude.