January 2, 1365 Tsunami: Algiers, Algeria

Name: January 2, 1365 Tsunami: Algiers, Algeria
Start: 1365-01-02
Location: Algiers, Algeria

January 2, 1365 · 5 m · Deaths: many · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Algiers, Algeria on January 2, 1365. The water rose as high as 5 meters. Its effects were recorded at 1 place.

Where the waves reached

The source (white) and every runup with a place, colored by the water height recorded there. A ring is a runup NCEI marks doubtful.

Under 1 m
1 to 3 m
3 to 10 m
10 to 30 m
30 m and more
Height not recorded

Tsunami warnings in force

The tsunami

Date: January 2, 1365
Source: Algiers, Algeria
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: The earthquake
Maximum water height: 5 m (16.4 ft)
Runups recorded: 1
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 36.800° N, 3.000° E

The toll

Deaths: Few (about 1 to 50); Many (about 101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Damage: Severe (about $5 to $25 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
Houses destroyed: Many (101 to 1,000) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it

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.

January 2, 1365, Alboran Sea, Algeria. The earthquake destroyed the town of Algiers almost completely; most of the town fell down, and so many people were killed that the Berber tribes were able to occupy it. The sea waves originated after the earthquake and flooded part of the town [Algiers] up to a significant height. People were drowned. (reference #2130).

The sea-wave triggered by the earthquake of 3 January 1365 (X EMS), which caused the "deluge submerging the inhabitants of Bab El Oued", could reach more than 2 m high. (reference #9901)

The historical seismicity catalogue refers to the occurrence of two earthquake-induced tsunami events that affected the Algerian coastline near Algiers in 1365 January 2, and near Jijel in 1856 August 21 (Mokrane et al. 1994). According to contemporaneous witnesses, the earlier event induced a wave 5 m high that devastated the western

coastline of Algiers (Ibn Khaldoun in 1369, edited in 1959) (reference #12057)

Every runup

Nearest the source first. Heights are above sea level at the time; a tide gauge reads half the wave’s full height.

Where	Country	Km from source	Water height, m	Inland, m	Measured by	First wave, UTC	Deaths
Algiers	Algeria	6	5		Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1365 The 1300s Tsunamis of Algeria The earthquake This day in weather history Alerts in force

Sources

Tsunami events and runups 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 tsunami event 3116.