March 16, 1956 Earthquake: Litani, Lebanon

Date

March 16, 1956

Time

19:32:00 UTC

Place

Litani, Lebanon

Magnitude

5.8

Tsunami

None recorded

Epicenter

35.500° N, 35.500° E

Country

Lebanon

Deaths

148

Damage

Severe (about $5 to $25 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.

• December 13, 115, Antakya (Antioch), TurkeyM7.5 · 260,000 deaths · 86 km
• May 29, 525, Antakya (Antioch), Samandag, TurkeyM7 · 250,000 deaths · 99 km
• November 29, 533, Aleppo, Syria130,000 deaths · 172 km
• February 13, 1157, Halab (Aleppo), Syria80,000 deaths · 85 km
• September 458, Antakya (Antioch), Turkey80,000 deaths · 95 km
• 1169, Halab (Aleppo),dimashq (Damascus), Syria80,000 deaths · 172 km
• September 30, 587, Antakya (Antioch), Turkey60,000 deaths · 99 km
• 341, Antakya (Antioch), Cyprus (Salamis), Turkey40,000 deaths · 95 km
• 565, Antakya (Antioch), Turkey30,000 deaths · 95 km
• August 13, 1822, Halab,dimashq (Damascus),, Antakya, Syria, Turkey20,000 deaths · 72 km
• 1183, Tripoli, Antakya, Lebanon, Dimashq, Turkey, Syria20,000 deaths · 144 km
• November 29, 528, Antakya (Antioch), TurkeyM7.1 · 4,870 deaths · 99 km
• 1155, Tarabulus, Antioch, Lebanon, Dimashq, Turkey, Syria2,000 deaths · 144 km
• October 26, 1156, Halab (Aleppo), Malatich, Syria2,000 deaths · 172 km
• April 3, 1872, Antakya (Antioch), Suedije, TurkeyM7.3 · 1,800 deaths · 100 km

Significant earthquakes of 1956The 1900sEvery quake the USGS located in 1956Recent earthquakes near hereThis day in weather history

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 4094.