July 3, 1916 Earthquake: Stromboli Island, Italy
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Stromboli Island, Italy on July 3, 1916 at 23:21:41 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 3, 1916
- Time
- 23:21:41 UTC
- Place
- Stromboli Island, Italy
- Magnitude
- 5.1 (Ms)
- Intensity
- 7 on the Modified Mercalli scale
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 38.817° N, 15.233° E
- Country
- Italy
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million)
- Houses damaged
- Few (about 1 to 50)
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.
1916, July 3, 23:21. 38o48'N, 15o12'E, intensity VII. (reference #1075)
1916, July 4(3), 00:21 [local time]. Tyrrhenian Sea, Lipari Islands, 38.8 N, 15.2 E, earthquake magnitude 4.2, intensity VII, tsunami intensity 4, reliability 2. A very strong explosive eruption of the volcano of Stromboli was accompanied by an earthquake. The vertically directed shock, which lasted 3 s, shook the entire island. It was rather strong on the shore of Calabria between Amantea and Cape Vaticano, as well as on the other Lipari Islands (Salina, Lipari, Panarea, Vulcano). The approximately 10 m rise of water was noticed on the Island of Stromboli, especially in the direction toward S. Bartolo. (reference #2130)
1916, July 3, 23:21:41 UTC. Aeolian Islands, 38o49'N, 15o14'E, earthquake magnitude 5.1, intensity 6.5, tsunami intensity 2, reliability 4. Violent eruption at the Stromboli volcano accompanied by a strong earthquake, causing some light damage in the buildings. Shock felt along the Tyrrhenian Calabrian coast from Amantea to Capo Vaticano. Also felt in Lipari Salina and Vulcano Islands. (reference #4139)
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
- December 5, 1456, Avellino,napoli,abruzzi, Brindisi,benevento, Italy
- February 4, 1169, Siracusa (Syracuse), Calabria, Sicily, Italy
- 1137, Catania, Sicily, Italy
- September 16, 1857, Calabria,montemurro, Italy
- December 16, 1857, Campania, Potenza, Italy
- March 27, 1638, Cosenza,martirano, Nicastro, Calabria, Italy
- July 17, 1361, Basilicata to Pouilles, Italy
- November 5, 1659, Panaija, Soriano, Polia, Italy
- February 6, 1783, Messina Straits, Italy
- January 21, 1065, Catania,messina,milazzo,pale, Sicily, Italy
- July 31, 1561, Picerno, Tito, Buccino, Italy
More
Significant earthquakes of 1916The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1916Recent 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 9990.