August 8, 1303 Tsunami: Aegean Sea, Greece

1303, Aug 8. Hellenic Arc. A large lower-crust earthquake, originating on the Hellenic Arc on 8 Aug 1303, caused widespread damage in the Eastern Mediterranean region that was in places quite serious... The seismic sea wave, which was associated with this earthquake and reported from other parts of the E. Mediterranean region, does not seem to have affected Cyprus. (ref #9116)

August (December) 8, 1303 or 1304, a catastrophic earthquake occurred in the eastern part of the Mediterranean sea, 36.3 N, 27.3 E. Tsunami intensities: Egypt, i=5-; Syria, i=4; the Island of Crete, i=4[?]; Peloponnesus and the Island of Rhodes, i=3; the Adriatic Sea, i=3 [?]; the shore of the Adriatic Sea, i=3-4.

On the Island of Crete, the sea rushed toward Candia (Heracleon) with such a force that many buildings were broken down and many people were killed. Shortly after, the sea receded, and the harbour became dry. In Akku, the sea receded far off, more than one mile, uncovering the bottom, on which there happened to be many lost goods, and then flooded the coast with force. The sea retreated drying up the bottom for hundreds of yards in many harbours of Syria, Lebanon, Palestine. In Alexandria, the sea level rose, and it threw up a French ship onto the coast, together with many fish and sea animals and fragments of the city walls. The level of the Nile varied widely; ships sailing in the middle of the river and lying at anchor were thrown up onto the banks 15 m inland. The tsunami was observed on the Island of Rhodes, on the south - eastern shore of Peloponnesus, in the Adriatic Sea. (ref #2130)

Aug 8, 1303. 36.5 N, 27.5 E, Egyptian coasts (m = v-), Syrian Coasts (iv), Crete (m=vi?), (m=tsunami intensity). (ref #26)

Dec, 1303. Crete (m=iv). Southwest Coasts of Peloponnesus and Rhodes (m = iii). Egyptian Coasts and Adriatic Sea (m = iii?).

Aug 8, 1303, tsunami observed on Egyptian coasts (v-), Syrian coasts (iv), Crete (iv?). (ref #15)

Dec 1303, tsunami observed on Crete (iv), Southwest coasts of Peloponnesus and Rhodes (iii), Egyqtian coasts and Adriatic Sea. (reference #15)

Aug 8, 1303, tsunami observed on Egyptian coasts, Syrian coasts Crete. (ref #20)

Dec 1303, tsunami observed on Crete, Southwest coasts of Peloponnesus and Rhodes, Egyptian coasts and Adriatic Sea (iii?). (ref #20)

Aug 8, 1304, Eastern Mediterranean, 36.3 N, 27.3 E, magnitude 8.0. (ref #330)

Aug 8, 1303. In Alexandria houses were ruined and 70 m of the city walls together with 27 towers were destroyed. However, the worst damage was caused by the combination of the earthquake, the sea and a high wind, which drove shops onto the coast and demolished part of the rampart, killing 46 people. (ref #3845)

Aug 08, 1303. Reliability = 4 (definite tsunami). (ref #2840)

Aug 08, 1303. Reliability = 4 (definite tsunami). (ref #11164, v.2)

The sea wave, which reached up to Bab al Bahr, drowned many people, threw European ships on land where they were broken and goods were taken off by the water. (ref #4408)