April 5, 1646 Tsunami: Marmara Sea, Turkey
A tsunami caused by an earthquake began at Marmara Sea, Turkey on April 5, 1646. 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
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
- April 5, 1646
- Source
- Marmara Sea, Turkey
- Cause
- Earthquake
- Earthquake
- The earthquake
- Runups recorded
- 1
- Tsunami intensity (Soloviev-Imamura)
- 4
- Waters
- Ocean
- How certain
- Very doubtful tsunami
- Source location
- 41.040° N, 28.980° E
The toll
The record gives no deaths, injuries or damage for this tsunami.
What the record says
NCEI’s account, from the sources it cites.
1646, April 5. Zone of the Sea of Marmara, Strait of Bosporus, tsunami intensity 3-4, reliability possible. The earthquake occurred in Istanbul. The sea rushed onto the dry land with such a force that 136 ships that were in the roadstead were cast ashore. (reference #2130)
1646, April 5. Marmara Sea, 41 N, 29 E, reliability 0. Damaging inundation in Constantinople. (reference #2427)
1646, April 5. At Constantinople the sea rushed in so violently that it threw 136 ships up on the strand. (reference #3470)
1646 April 5. Constantinople. (references #14, #15, #20)
1646, April 5. Also, at the same time at Constantinople. At Constantinople the sea rushed in so violently that it threw 136 ships up on the strand. (reference #521)
1646 April 5. Constantinople (Istanbul), intensity 3.
In Pinar's earthquake catalogue, we find an earthquake
which occurred in Constantinople on April 1646. As a result of the shock 136 ships, we are informed, were thrown on land. This event we also find in Huot (1837) who adds that the earthquake shock itself was not severe. Nevertheless, the sea rushed inland so violently that 136 sailing ships were cast on shore. The original source of information seems to be a letter of Dr. Vivoli, to which unfortunately have not had access. It is quite clear that what Huot describes is the result of a seismic sea-wave which it is of interest to notice that in this case was caused by a rather mild shock.
From Mallet (1858) we learn that on April 5, 1646, an earthquake occurred also in Italy. Magri (1647) says that this earthquake caused much damage in Livorno where sea-waves damaged the ships at anchor in the harbour of the town. Mallet regards these two earthquakes to have occurred simultaneously on the 5th of April 1646. On the basis of the available information on these two events it is difficult to appreciate this coincidence. If Mallet's view was correct, it is difficult to distinguish whether the event of April in Constantinople was the result of a strong sea-wave which was set up by the Livorno earthquake or of a local seismic sea-wave.
(above from reference #27)
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Istanbul (Constantinople) | Turkey | 3 | Eyewitness observation of water height |
More
Every tsunami in 1646The 1600sTsunamis of TurkeyThe 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 262.