58 BC Earthquake: Dyrrachium, Albania
A magnitude 6.6 earthquake struck Dyrrachium, Albania in 58 BC. 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
- 58 BC
- Place
- Dyrrachium, Albania
- Magnitude
- 6.6 (Ms)
- Tsunami
- Yes: the tsunami it caused
- Epicenter
- 41.300° N, 19.500° E
- Country
- Albania
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this earthquake.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
58 B.C. April. Dyrrachium. An earthquake may have occurred in Albania. This event, if genuine, happened during the consulship of Piso and Gabinus (58 BC) when Cicero was on his way to exile. He left Brindisi on 14 kalends of May (18th April) and, after a short crossing, when he was about to land at Dyrrachium, there was apparently an earthquake and the sea retired to a considerable distance from the shore.
There is no evidence that it caused any damage. The source for this earthquake, a first-century-AD Greek historian, includes this earthquake as a portent, since he goes on to say that contemporary soothsayers interpreted the phenomenon as a sign of a short exile. The letters which Cicero wrote to Atticus at the time, however, are silent about this event.
(above from reference #9116)
Other significant earthquakes nearby
Within 200 km, the deadliest first.
- April 6, 1667, Ragusa, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Balkans NW
- October 12, 1851, Vlore (Valona),berat, Turkey, Albania
- July 26, 1963, Skopje, Macedonia, Balkans NW, North Macedonia
- October 17, 1851, Berat, Albania
- November 26, 1920, Tepelene, Dragoti, Peshtani, Maricaj, Albania
- April 15, 1979, Montenegro, Balkans NW
- June 1, 1905, Shkoder, Albania
- February 5, 1786, Corfu (Kerkira), Greece
- January 28, 1931, Korce, Albania
- January 2, 1866, Narta, Vlore, Kanina, Albania
- March 2, 1866, Smokthine, Velca, Vlore, Albania
- November 26, 2019, Durres, Thumane, Tirana, Albania
- August 27, 1942, Peshkopia, Magellare, Albania
- November 21, 1930, Vlore, Himare, Kuc, Albania
- December 2, 1930, Vlore, Tepelene, Albania
More
Significant earthquakes of 58 BC99 to 1 BCRecent earthquakes near here
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 9753.