December 5, 1033 Tsunami: Akko, Syria

1033, Dec 05. Tsunami in Acre, and possibly nearby coast.

This earthquake and tsunami have been widely referred to in the published literature. Ambraseys (ref#15) and Ambraseys (ref#3845) relate this tsunami to the coasts of Lebanon and Israel. Amiran (ref#10419) suggest that the tsunami occurred on Jan 4, 1034, in Jaffa, and that the port of Akko fell dry for an hour. Soloviev (ref#2130) mention that tidal waves were observed in Gaza and Ashkelon, and that the seaport of Akko became dry for a long time and then it was half destroyed by a wave. Guidoboni (ref#10420) interpret that the tsunami effect is confined to Acre, but it is reasonable to suppose that the tsunami affected more of the coast. Ambraseys (ref#9116) constrains the tsunami to Acre and suggests that it did not cause damage or loss of life inland. Shalem (ref#10422), however, suspects this description might have been duplicated from the 1068 event. Following the detailed analysis of Ambraseys (ref#3845) and Guidoboni (ref#10420), the tsunami can be constrained to the northern and central coasts of Israel only.Regarding the cause of the tsunami, Amiran (ref#10419) mention a swarm of earthquakes during the winter of 1033/4, probably in the Jordan Valley, including the strongest shock on 1033 12 10 and another one on 1034 01 04. Ambraseys (ref#10421) and Ambraseys (ref#3845) also locate the earthquake in the Jordan Valley but date it on 1033 12 05. A detailed analysis by Guidoboni (ref#10420) suggests that the earthquake occurred on 1033 12 05, although Arabic sources give the date of 1033 12 05 as 1034 01 04. In their opinion, Perrey (ref#10418) dated this event to 1032 03 06, which is then further confused with 1033 03 06, the date of the earthquake that occurred in Constantinople.

(above from ref #10416)

1033, Dec 5. A damaging earthquake occurred in Palestine... In Acre the sea flowed out several kilometres before flowing back as a wave an hour later. Although it drowned some of those who were foraging on the seabed, there is no evidence that it caused destruction or loss of life inland.( ref #9116)

1032. An earthquake in Asia Minor, Syria, Palestine, Askabh, Jerusalem and Gaza, was accompanied by an earthquake wave in the Mediterranean. (ref #1222)

1033-1034. In Syria, 1/3 of Ramala was destroyed. In Jerusalem the walls collapsed and the temple was severely destroyed. In Ghaza the mosque and its minarets at El Gaalan were destroyed also upper part of lighthouse badly damaged. In Nablus 1/2 of the city fell down, many villages in El Badou were swallowed up in the ground. In Egypt the earthquake caused much damage. There were 70,000 victims. (ref #1222)

1034, Jan. 4. Tsunami on the coasts of Lebanon and Israel, Acre. (ref #15 and #20)

1034, Jan 4; or Mar 6, 1032; 1039; or May 1035. A strong destructive earthquake occurred in the vast region from Syria in the northeast to Egypt in the southwest. Half of the city of Nablus and 1/3 of the city of Ramallah were destroyed. In Jerusalem, walls were destroyed, the temple was badly damaged, other buildings suffered damage. In Gaza the mosque and the lighthouse were damaged, heavy damage was caused in Ashkelon. After one or several earthquakes the sea retreated from the shore and returned swiftly. Tidal waves were observed in Gaza and in Ashkelon. The seaport of Akko became dry for a long time, then it was half destroyed by a wave. (ref #2130)

1035, April or May. From the study of the available information on these individual earthquakes, it appears that there are at least four major distinct earthquakes that occurred between 1033 and 1035 AD. A third very strong earthquake occurred in April or early May 1035 AD and damaged the northern provinces of Syria. It appears that the April or May 1035 AD earthquake was responsible for the seismic sea-wave. During this earthquake, extensive faulting and probably some crustal deformation occurred in the Saida-Sur area. (ref #26)