January 20, 1941 Earthquake: Ammochostos, Cyprus
A magnitude 6 earthquake struck Ammochostos, Cyprus on January 20, 1941 at 03:37:01 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
- January 20, 1941
- Time
- 03:37:01 UTC
- Place
- Ammochostos, Cyprus
- Magnitude
- 6 (Mw)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 35.221° N, 33.751° E
- Country
- Cyprus
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.
1941 Jan 20, 03:37.1 UTC. Cyprus. Destructive. Depth 100 km. 35.2 N 33.8 E. (reference #45)
1941 Jan 20, 03:37:1.86 UTC, 35.221 N 33.751 E, depth 15, magnitude 6.03 Mw. (reference #10476)
1941 Jan 20, 35 10 N 33 39 E. This was a strong earthquake (Ms = 5.9) which caused considerable damage in Ammochostos, Cyprus. A small tsunami was observed on the Palestine coast (Ambraseys 1992; Ambraseys and Adams 1993). (reference #2815)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- February 26, 1796, Al-Ladhiqiyah (Latakia), Syria
- April 10, 1735, Nicosia, Cyprus
- March 16, 1956, Litani, Lebanon
- 1339, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Lebanon
- September 10, 1953, Paphos, Cyprus
- January 11, 2022, Damietta, Paphos, Egypt, Cyprus
- February 23, 1995, Paphos, Nicosia, Arodhes, Peristerona, Cyprus
- 300, Salamis, Cyprus
- 15 BC, Salamis, Cyprus
- 26 BC, Cyprus
- May 11, 1222, Cyprus
- 76, Paphos, Salamis, Cyprus
- 494, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Syria, Lebanon
- July 1063, Tarabulus (Tripolis), Tyre, Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon
- 2000 BC, Ugarit, Syria
More
Significant earthquakes of 1941The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1941Recent 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 10586.