142 Tsunami: Dodecanese Islands, Greece

142. This earthquake affected a large area in southwest Turkey and the Dodecanese Islands. Damage extended from the island of Cos and Rhodes to the Gulf of Antalya and to Cine in the north, an area of radius 90 km…Rhodes was ruined by the earthquake and the sea drew back, leaving the harbour dry…Aristides would seem to be writing about the second event [141 and 142]: he describes a seismic sea wave that destroyed Rhodes and left it ruined. This would tally with Pausania's second account, where he mentions that the cities of Rhodes were rebuilt by the emperor. (ref #9116)

142 (148). The town of Rhodes was destroyed by an earthquake, and its ruins were washed away by the wave that rushed in so quickly that the citizens suffering the earthquake had no time to find their relatives; the sea water penetrated deep into dry land for several miles. The towns on the islands of Kos, Symi, Serifos suffered from the earthquake and tsunami (ref #2130)

142. If we can trust Aristides's account, the city of Rhodes was practically devastated not so much by the earthquake as by the sea-wave which followed. Towns in the islands of Cos, Seriphos and Syme suffered heavily from both the earthquake shock and the ensued sea-wave. In Rhodes the sea advanced many miles inland and raised to the ground what ruins were left standing by the shock proper. (ref #23)

142. 36 deg 42 min N, 38 deg E earthquake magnitude 7, intensity VIII, tsunami intensity 4. Strong earthquake affecting Caria and the Dodecanese islands, especially Rhodes, Kos, Simi and Serifos. Some authors place this event in 148 A.D. but most recent studies suggest the 142 A.D. as the most reliable date of occurrence. Many coeval sources report detailed description of the earthquake but only one refers that the shock was followed by a seismic sea wave. According to this source, the town of Rhodes was more devastated by the tsunami than by the shock. In Rhodes the sea advanced many miles inland. (ref #4139)

148. Destructive sea inundation. (ref #2427)

Reliability = 3 (probable tsunami). In the rhetorical speech "Rodiakos" of Aristides Aelius (129-189 AD), communicated to the citizens of Rhodes, a strong tsunami caused by the earthquake is described (see passages 20-26): ". . . and I remember that in that fatal noon, when the calamity that happened to you started, when the sea was calm,. . . and all the earthquake force was directed against the city. . . Then the sea water retreated and the ports dried up. . . and the ports became as the dry ground. . . And everything happened at the same moment: the earthquake of the sea, the clouds, the roaring, the lamentations, the noise of the dead bodies, the ground subsidence. . . Everything had collapsed. . . ". In addition, the speech of Aelius makes clear that the islands of Symi (Dodecanese) and Serifos (Cyclades) were not destructed by the earthquake as claimed by Papazachos and Papazachou (1997) who apparently misunderstood passage 38 of the speech. The estimates for the year of occurrence of this earthquake and tsunami event range about seven years around 148. (ref #2840)

142. First, the Rhodian Oration does not imply at all that a tsunami was generated since the sea drew back but without return and inundation onshore as it happened with the AD 365 large tsunami in Alexandria […] Second, that the interior of the harbours was laid bare but without tsunami generation provides evidence for permanent co-seismic uplift. This is further supported by that the houses were thrown upwards and the harbours [became] dry /ant/because of the heaving of the earth. Besides, the statement the earthquake [came] from the sea implies no tsunami generation but an offshore seismic source. Should the city had ruined because of a tsunami it very likely would not escape historical record. (ref #13796)

148. Definite tsunami. (ref# 11164)