March 9, 1629 Tsunami: Crete, Greece

Name: March 9, 1629 Tsunami: Crete, Greece
Start: 1629-03-09
Location: Crete, Greece

March 9, 1629 · Deaths: many · Probable tsunami

A tsunami caused by a magnitude 7 earthquake began at Crete, Greece on March 9, 1629 at 09:00 UTC. 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

Travel times

How long the first wave took to reach each part of the ocean, one line for each hour up to 24, estimated from the source and the depth of the sea.

The travel times are computed in your browser, which needs JavaScript.

1 to 4 hours
5 to 6 hours
7 to 14 hours
15 hours and more

Computed in your browser the way NOAA’s own travel time maps are: the wave travels at the square root of gravity times the depth, over NOAA’s ETOPO1 depths averaged to a 10 arc-minute grid. Checked against NOAA NCEI’s maps for 21 tsunamis over the first 24 hours, these lines fall within 10 minutes of NCEI’s at half the points compared and within 52 minutes at 9 in 10. They give when the first wave could arrive, not how high it is; bays, harbors and island chains finer than the grid can see it later. Not for use in a warning: see tsunami.gov.

The tsunami

Date: March 9, 1629, 09:00 UTC
Source: Crete, Greece
Cause: Earthquake
Earthquake: Magnitude 7, 70 km deep
Runups recorded: 1
Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura): 3
Waters: Ocean
How certain: Probable tsunami
Source location: 36.000° N, 25.000° E

The toll

Deaths: 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.

1629, March 7, or 9 (February, 27). Hellenic Arc, Island of Crete. A strong earthquake occurred that resulted in great destruction. The tsunami was observed on the Island of Kythira. 09h, 35.5 N, 25.0 E, 70 km depth, I = IX, M = 7.0, tsunami intensity 3. (reference #2130)

1629, February, 27 - Crete, 36 N, 25 E. Extensive damage by a severe shoeck on the whole island of Crete. A tsunami was reported from Cythera. (reference #109)

1629, March 7, 09h, 35.5 N, 25.0 E, depth 70 km, magnitude 7.0. Northern Crete and Cythera (tsunami magnitude =3?) (reference #330)

1629, March 9, 36 N, 25 E, earthquake magnitude 7, depth 70 km, tsunami reliability 1. Strong earthquake affecting Heraklion, Crete causing damage and victims. Small inundation in Kythira. Galanopoulos (r433) dates the shock in February 27th. In the Kythira Strait tsunami waves seen offshore by sailing ships. Small inundation observed in the Kythira harbour. Sieberg and later Ambraseys, Galanopoulos, and Antonopoulos, mention a tsunami in Kythira. Antonopoulos quotes bibliography contained in the earthquake catalogue of Crete by Latakis and Maravelakis. (reference #4139)

1630, March 9, 09h, 36 N, 24 E, earthquake magnitude 6.75, intensity VIII. Kythira Strait. Strong wave. Tsunami intensity 3. (reference #2427)

1629, March 9. Islands of Cythera and Crete (iii?). (reference #15)

1630, March 9, 36 N, 25 E, earthquake intensity VIII. Islands of Cythera and Crete. Tsunami intensity 3. (reference #20)

1629 March 9, Islands of Cythera and Crete (m=iii?). Information about this event is derived from various manuscripts. A. Galanopoulos, in his Catalogue (1961, p. 11) on the authority of H. Sieberg (1932 a), refers to the creation of Tsunami during this earthquake. He defines the geographical co-ordinates of the epicenter and its force, but he fixes a date 10 days before, that is February 27, 1629. (reference #27)

1629, February. Hellenic Arc. A marginal note on a codex written in Crete says that the shock was felt throughout the island, where houses collapsed, killing people, churches were shattered and church bells were set ringing. Another mariginal note, of unknown provenance, adds that the shaking of the ground was so violent that 'tree-tops were caused to touch the ground, many houses were ruined, spring water became turbid and large earthen wine jars burst(?)'. Details about the damage sustained in the islands are lacking. The shock was strongly felt in the island of Kithyra, but it was not reported from the Ionian islands. About the same time an earthquake shock was felt in Smyrna. The details of the effects of this earthquake on land and at sea are given in three separate reports made by captains arriving in Zante, which confirm that the shock was associated with a seismic sea wave. This earthquake took place during the fourth hour of the day, on Saturday of the Adoration of the Cross, 27 February 1629 (= Friday) (Julian calendar, 9 March Gregorian calendar) (reference #9116)

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
Kythira Island	Greece	182			Eyewitness observation of water height

Every tsunami in 1629 The 1600s Tsunamis of Greece 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 3789.