June 5, 1615 Tsunami: Black Sea, Ukraine
A tsunami caused by a magnitude 5.7 earthquake began at Black Sea, Ukraine on June 5, 1615. The water rose as high as 1 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
The tsunami
- Date
- June 5, 1615
- Source
- Black Sea, Ukraine
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- Magnitude 5.7
- Maximum water height
- 1 m (3.3 ft)
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 2
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Definite tsunami
- Source location
- 44.900° N, 35.500° E
The toll
- Damage
- Limited (under about $1 million) with the earthquake or eruption that caused it
- Houses destroyed
- Few (about 1 to 50) 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.
1615, June 5. 44.9 N, 35.5 E, magnitude 5.7 MS, intensity VIII. In Feodoslya, town walls and homes collapsed; tsunami. (reference #223)
On 5 June 1615 an earthquake occurred on the southeast coast of Crimea with speculated magnitude 6 and approximate epicenter 44.9 N, 35.5 E. ‘‘The sea level was violent near Feodosiya’’ [Nikonov, 1997]. The intensity of this tsunami can be considered as intensity II–IV according to the new tsunami intensity scale of Papadopoulos and Imamura [2001]. (reference #4213)
1615, June 5. 44.9 N, 35.5 E. Probable tsunami. Swell, sea level rise and recession to the ordinary level near the town of Feodosia. Based on Armenian chronicles, Nikonov (1997a) listed an earthquake of M = 6.0±0.5 and an associated tsunami occurring on 5 June 1615 on the southeastern coast of Crimea with the next description: “Swell, sea level rise and recession to the ordinary level near the town of Feodosia.” He also estimated the water level rise to be 0.5 to 1.0m and the tsunami intensity k = II. According to Yalciner et al. (2004), the tsunami intensity K was estimated between II and IV. (reference #9391)
1615, June 5. Very improbable tsunami. (reference #11164)
1615, May 26. 44.7 N, 35.3 E. Definite tsunami. “In 1064 (1615) ... on May 26, on Friday, there was an earthquake in the city of Kaffa: ... the earth quaked... the sea rose up, became agitated, and went back” (Minor Chronicles..., 1951). Damage was quite likely to occur. (reference #12050)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feodosiya | Ukraine | 17 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1615The 1600sTsunamis of UkraineThe earthquakeThis day in weather historyAlerts 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 2289.